McEnroe vs McEnroe

by Savannah

Six-year-old Noah Eisenberg works on his backhand under the tutelage of John McEnroe at the Sportime facility on Randalls Island.

I remember reading a couple of years ago that John McEnroe had proposed setting up an academy of sorts at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in the NYC borough of Queens. I figured it was a done deal but I kind of forgot about it.

Meanwhile the USTA revamped it's High Performance program installing Patrick McEnroe as the head and charging him with turning the fortunes of United States tennis around. He was given authority to hire men and women he felt would be able to train promising up and comers to play modern tennis as opposed to having the tactics of yesteryear drummed into them.

It wasn't until I read an article last weekend in the New York Times that I realized John had not given up his dream of a JMac academy and that in fact he was setting one up on the newly revamped facilities at Randalls Island located in New York City's East River.

“I don’t think you have to give up everything, play six hours a day, to be successful,” McEnroe said. “When I was 12, 13, I was playing soccer and basketball and whatever I did to keep myself sane — some people may argue that point — and from not walking away from the game because I had outlets.”

The next figurative ball for McEnroe to strike in his 51-year-old life of playing the angles is scheduled for Thursday, when he plans to announce the September start of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy at the 20-court Sportime facility on Randalls Island. McEnroe intends to model the enterprise on the Port Washington, N.Y., club he grew up in — having the gifted and daring play a few sessions a week while attending school independently, living a life.

He hopes to widen the search for the next great player from New York to less traditional tennis-playing communities like East Harlem and the Bronx, perhaps with the help of corporate scholarships. But he won’t object if his cultural alternative to the generic Florida tennis factory appeals to the families of prodigies from Seattle to Serbia.

“People feel, put the kids in the middle of nowhere, isolate them, so all they can do is live and breathe tennis,” he said. “Me, I went to Florida with Harry Hopman, at 15 or 16, for one day and said, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’ Never would I have made it if I had to do that. It would have been a form of torture. I mean, some people will say, There’s too much going on in New York. But I feel that with the natural energy here, you can feed off that.”
(...)
Before hiring a coaching staff, it tabbed McEnroe’s brother, Mark, a corporate lawyer, to manage the Randalls Island operation.

The article continues.

According to John, he had long badgered the association to create a program with him at its National Tennis Center. He figured it a logical extension of his legacy: he was a ball boy at the United States Open when it was played in Forest Hills, then a four-time champion and in recent years its network voice.

Alternately encouraged and stonewalled, he became hopeful when Patrick was hired to fix a clogged developmental pipeline in the flagging search for the next great Americans.

“He gave me this, ‘Well, we don’t have a lot of money, so we’ve got to start with two courts and a couple of hours,’ ” John said. “I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ How much does the U.S.T.A. make from the Open? You’re going to sit there and tell me they don’t have the money to spend on a program if they want to?

“I mean, how many tens of millions — hundreds of millions — have they put out on other programs? What has that gotten them? If this had been a complete and dismal failure, it would have been just like 100 other things.”
(...)
Patrick McEnroe said John’s vision of the academy did not quite mesh with the U.S.T.A. mission. “As I told John, I’d love to have him associated with the program,” Patrick said. “But he always felt that he wanted something that was his. It was hard to make the argument that you’re going to have a U.S.T.A. program named after a player — any player.”

Asked if his brother’s academy would be a direct competitor to the national association, Patrick McEnroe said: “It’s a totally different situation, in a sense that the kids who come to our programs don’t pay a dime. The others have different models, a business model. In John’s situation, he’d like to get some kids who can be great players, but he’ll have to straddle that line between development and making money.”

The USTA had designated many facilities around the country as part of it's Elite program. I don't have a clue about the politics, or the family dynamics behind this. It's going to be interesting to see just who "wins" this little battle. Keep in mind that Pater McEnroe put his hat in the ring to run the ATP last year. We should also not forget that the Sanchez-Casal Academy has opened a branch in Naples, Florida.

Results should take a few years. We'll just have to wait and see.

News and Views 3/18/2010

by Savannah

I'm tired of writing about the state of the WTA so I'll present another point of view.
Bill Dwyre wrote the following after attending a press conference featuring WTA CEO Stacey Allaster.

Here's some of what he had to say about the non participation of they-who-must-not-be-named.

The issue has moved from them not being here. Deal with it folks. They aren't coming back. Their confrontation with the crowd in 2001 and dad Richard Williams' characterization a week or so later that the whole thing was racist is a tattoo on this event.

New owner Larry Ellison said he wants them back, but being the fourth-wealthiest man in the world won't be enough. Learning to change wine into water might do it.

Last year, from the WTA's bonus pool alone, Serena Williams forfeited $400,000 and Venus $150,000 for failure to play the mandatory Indian Wells event. Apparently $550,000 isn't motivation enough.

Dwyre then goes on to talk about the tour and the up and coming players.

The bigger picture here is the future of women's tennis, especially without Venus, 30 in June, and Serena, 29 in September.
Allaster is now in the vision-for-the future seat. Also the smooth-it-over seat. She said Serena's much-watched outburst at the U.S. Open had not hurt women's tennis and she considered it "one evening out of character."

Allaster said that the retaining of tour sponsor Sony Ericsson was key, and it was, even though the cellphone company came forth with less money this time around.
(...)

The real growth in the product will be where it has always been, and where it was Monday.

On Court 3, Shahar Peer and Flavia Pennetta banged through a terrific three-set match, Peer winning. Both are good players, both attractive personalities.

Next on the same court was newcomer Yanina Wickmayer, whose out-of-nowhere success is a good story. She beat unheralded Roberta Vinci of Italy, who served and volleyed in her key service game of the second set. Good stuff. Even the men don't try that much anymore, a huge loss to the game.

On center court, in a key-lime-pie dress, Serbian Jelena Jankovic, a compelling character in the process of building a 20,000-square-foot house in San Diego, won a tough three-setter of her own.

Kim Clijsters, who lost a long and wrenching 2 1/2-hour three-setter late Monday to Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, usually brings the sunshine.

Justine Henin is back and brings along her smooth-as-a-vanilla-milkshake backhand. Maria Sharapova keeps breaking down, but keeps trying.

Allaster has her work cut out for her.

Seen and Heard Around

I don't know if everyone noticed but the woman who made the foot fault call against Serena Williams at last years US Open was working a men's match yesterday. The camera zoomed in on Shino Tsurubuchi and lingered for what in television land was a long time.

Caroline Wozniacki can become WTA #2 if she makes the Final at Indian Wells or the semifinals at both Indian Wells and Miami. A commentator referred to Caroline as the new "It" girl the other day. I do hope that WTA CEO Stacey Allaster is serious about growing the WTA brand and that the tour is promoted not just one player.

Caroline will play Aggie Radwanska next in a match that for this observer will be sleep inducing. I don't care for the way either woman plays but this is the future of the WTA so I'll stay awake as long as I can.

Ivan Ljubicic is into the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe Will Reenact Their Wimbledon Final...

But the general public will not be invited.

.

..the exhibition match is being paid for by Wimbledon's increasingly influential corporate partners HSBC, who will select what will be a relatively small audience.

The event is expected to take place in the fortnight's gap between the French Open and Wimbledon in early to mid June, at a time when McEnroe is in Europe for his commentating duties in Paris and London.
It is believed the match would happen on an outside court and not the Centre with licensing difficulties, plus the preparation of the site for the main Championships, making it difficult to stage the event more publicly. There is also the reality that the disparity in playing standards between Borg, who rarely practises these days, and McEnroe, who still trains regularly at 51, will not mean that it could be a seriously competitive match.

SOURCE

This and That

by Savannah

Maria Sharapova's website has been updated to show the following schedule:

Warsaw Open
Roland Garros
AEGON Classic - Birmingham
Wimbledon

An aggressive schedule no?

Match Fixing in Tennis

Hannah Karp has posted the following article on the Wall Street Journal's online site.

Four months ago in a hotel room overlooking the landscaped gardens of the luxurious Dusit Thani hotel in Pattaya City, Thailand, Dmitry Avilov sat deep in thought for several hours, he recalls, nervously composing a message in Russian to Ekaterina Bychkova, a tennis player now ranked No. 169 on the WTA Tour.

Mr. Avilov, 25, who says he makes a modest living betting almost exclusively on women's tennis, had decided, for the first time, he says, to approach a player about fixing a match.

While Ms. Bychkova refused the overture and no money ever changed hands, Mr. Avilov's story highlights a growing concern among some coaches, officials and corruption experts: that lower-ranked tennis players are easy targets, especially with the rise of social-networking sites that make it simpler for strangers to contact them.

In the U.S., tennis bets can only legally be made in person at Nevada sports books. While online betting is legal in many countries outside the U.S., including Russia, match fixing is prohibited almost everywhere. In Russia, however, the penalties are relatively light. Individual violators are subject to arrest and to a fine of up to 200,000 rubles (about $6,000).

"I feel like I can just do whatever I want," says Mr. Avilov, a father of two who lives in a one-bedroom flat in western Russia. "Professional tennis doesn't want to deal with fixes, period."

The article comes complete with pictures and makes it seem like there are guys like this all over the world plotting to fix WTA matches. This is one of the many issues the new WTA CEO will have to face. Jon Wertheim tweeted today that based on news out of Madrid the search could get quite nasty. Between this, the lack of popularity among tennisheads let alone the casual fan for the WTA product, the uproar over mandatory or be fined events and on court coaching the incoming man or woman will have their hands full.

The Dust Bowl

Reports are still filtering out of Madrid about player dissatisfaction with conditions on the ground at the Magic Box. One of the problems has to do with climate and location. Let's not forget that this is the event that replaced Hamburg, a locale infamous for it's damp wet weather and heavy slow clay courts.

I noticed during Rafael Nadal's match yesterday that as he slid to make a shot a mini dust storm erupted. The effect is seen in the above picture of Novak Djokovic. The grounds crew is being maligned by the TennsTV commentators and while they acknowledge that the courts have yet to settle and that once they do things will be better it's to the point now that at every changeover the court is being watered. This results in the surface being too wet to play on. Once it dries however it's back to the dust bowl. It also appears to be very windy in Madrid this time of year. One fan noted that her car was pushed sideways by the wind as she drove to the site yesterday. This same fan also noted that she had a wonderful time at the complex and posted the pictures to prove it.
Please click HERE to read Elisat's blog post and view her wonderful pictures.

One of the things this fan posted in her blog was about the on court coaching given Juan Martin del Potro and Fabio Fognini. I thought about this as I watched Caroline Wozniacki destroy Alisa Kleybanova. It wasn't even a contest. All Caroline had to do was wait for Alisa to make a mistake. The match stats showed Kleybanova had 44 unforced errors compared to 21 for Wozniacki but I digress.

Caroline was cruising along up 4-0 in the second set when horror of horrors Kleybanova won a game. Totally flummoxed Caroline called on her coach to explain what happened and what she should do to avoid it happening again. Lo and behold Kleybanova won another game. I expected to see Caroline come totally unglued but she managed to pull out the set 6-2. I'm sure she drank a cup of chamomile tea and took immediately to her bed. For me all I could think of was Venus Williams inability to play "military tennis" as Robbie Koenig and Jason Goodall call it. When Wozniacki wasn't benefiting from a Kleybanova error she was moving her opponent side to side, left, right, left right, along the baseline. Ms Kleybanova, a throwback to the days of the unfit woman player, didn't have the stamina to keep up.

Seriously though the hand holding for WTA players is getting to be a bit much. If a player has to have her hand physically held to get through every point of every game why is she playing tennis? This is not to say that the situations noted above are better but I doubt if we'll ever see an ATP player calling down his coach to tell him what to do. There may be examples of coaches and players seemingly talking to themselves - something I've seen personally - but on court coaching sucks. Sorry. One of the reasons I feel the women's field at Roland Garros is wide open is because of this reliance on "Big Daddy" holding a players hand. Maybe Carlos Rodriguez can give a crash course to the coaches of these players on the proper way to "guide" your player through a match.

Richard Gasquet

There's really nothing new to report. Some fans are citing the revised figures of 151 nanograms over a base of 50 but the figures still show a level three times the base rate that was originally reported. The outgoing head of the French Olympic committee chimed in in support of a reduced sentence for Gasquet while the head of the FFT said he wished Gasquet had withdrawn from the tournament with his shoulder injury the day before the party and therefore avoid the test being categorized as "in competition". I guess he's not trying to see that the very fact that Richard withdrew AFTER the party leads to some disturbing conclusions about the timing of the withdrawal. Meanwhile Richard's fans are citing everything from a change in his anti inflammatory to his being duped by nefarious beings at a party. They're ignoring drug abuse forums that say orally ingested cocaine numbs the mouth and the esophagus and results in poor absorption of the drug. That is why the drug is either snorted, smoked or injected.

I wonder if all of this sympathy for Richard is because this was supposed to be the man at the top of the tennis heap now? Instead, if he is given a two year suspension it looks as if his career would be over. This has to be a blow - no pun intended - to his Federation and his financial backers. What if one of the Spaniards or South Americans had tested positive for cocaine in Miami? I don't have to go into the snide remarks and winking that would be going on do I?

In case you're thinking I'm exaggerating think about the reported drug use of John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg? No big deal right? What about the seven ATP players who were caught using nandrolone back in the day but whose names were never made public? What about the oft rumored drug suspension of a very popular male that was said to be covered up as an injury break? The rules were changed in January of this year to make the names of drug offenders in sports public. The only names we've heard recently were South American, which have been proven or suspected to be false, and Richard Gasquet. There was Greg Rusedski but for some reason his offence was/is overlooked while another man's career was stolen from him.

Don't get me wrong. There is tragedy in L'Affaire Gasquet but in the end he was caught with three times the base level of cocaine in his system. Maybe this is the universe's way of forcing him to take a time out, to decide if he really wants to play tennis, I don't know. I remember in the wake of the Davis Cup incident versus the United States there was a lot of talk about Richard being coddled by both his parents and his Federation. With the head of the FFT coming out and saying that Richard shouldn't be given a two year suspension doesn't this give credence to those arguments?

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

TennisTV and the WTA - Again

I have truly enjoyed the coverage of the ATP provided by TennisTV this week. I had a problem with my transmission once and it was solved quickly by the tech support staff. I've seen men's matches on all three show courts up to and including the final match of the day. Even with today's double withdrawals the commentators kept their audience informed as to what was happening to the schedule and reassured viewers that they would see the substitute match which was a very good one.


Agnes Szavay
I wish I could say the same about the WTA coverage. I think they've managed to show two matches a day, three at the most. So what since I seem to be bitching and moaning about the state of the WTA ad nauseam? Let's take today for example. What did paid subscribers miss? There was this match between Victoria Azarenka and Agnes Szavay. Agnes was being touted as an up and comer a couple of years ago but due to injury had fallen off the radar. She's been playing well, WTA well anyway, of late and the match up was intriguing. I've posted action shots from the match which was all I could see here in the States.

Victoria Azarenka
Then there was this little set to between Dinara Safina and Lucie Safarova. It went three sets. It was nip and tuck for Dinara for awhile there. Guess someone decided it wasn't worth viewing by potential fans. Here's a picture of Lucie so her family knows where she was this afternoon.

I seriously don't get it. It seems that once again if there is an interesting men's match somewhere on the grounds the fans - and TennisTV, try to cover it. If it's not on a television court you're kept informed. With the WTA you can't keep informed because they're not broadcasting the daily matches. Apparently attendance was low - even for an early in the day match in Madrid between Jelena Jankovic and Elena Vesnina. I missed it this morning so I have to go by fan reports. Something is very very wrong with the live streaming approach of the WTA. Why pay for such minimal coverage?

Mountains out of Mole Hills

Andy Murray
This morning I read the following comments by Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic on the ATP ranking system as reported by The Ticker

Andy Murray on the ranking system: "I don’t think it was a problem for the last few years, I think that it has only become a problem for Novak in the last few weeks."

A day earlier, Djokovic had said, "Playing three Masters Series finals in a row and winning a 250 event is incredible success and even then you are dropping a spot down in the rankings.

"That shows how cruel the ranking system is in this sport."

Sounds like an "a" and "b" conversation right? Well here's how the same situation was reported on TennisReporters.net

"Playing three Masters Series finals in a row and winning a 250 event (in Belgrade) is incredible success and even then you are dropping a spot down in the rankings," "That shows how cruel the ranking system is in this sport. Federer or Nadal have been winning four or five grand slams in a row and they haven't [added] a single point. I think this is an issue we have to talk about."
Interestingly, but oddly, Nadal said he had talked to Djokovic about the issue and agreed the system needs changing, to what appears to be a more complicated one. "I think a ranking based on two years would be much better in terms of being relaxed and, from my point of view, would allow me to lengthen my career,"...
(...)
The reality is that while Djokovic has played very well, so has Murray, who by the way, is still carrying a zero-pointer in his 18 tournaments fro putting out of Indianapolis last week. And, had Djokovic won just one of the recent Masters Series, it would not even be an issue.
But Djokovic wasn’t getting on Murray's back, just the system. "I think that I have played fantastic tennis and have had huge success on both hard courts and clay courts so I will be very patient and I am sure that if I continue this way I will get my spot back," said Djokovic. "Andy absolutely deserves that place because he's been winning a lot of matches lately and playing good tennis but it is still a long way for him and for me."

Guys, keep hoping that the chances of the ATP merging with the WTA still seem slim to none. Be very very careful what you wish for.

Martina Hingis

by Savannah


They had to be looking for it.
Sports enterprises are reeling from rumors of rampant steroid use and gambling. The amount of money spent to make sure star athletes are not associating with people who regularly pose holding numbers at chest level is staggering.

While football, European and American, baseball and cycling have struggled with damaging headlines tennis players seemed to be immune from the rockstar image associated with big time sports all around the world. They've been called "boring" and there are few tennis players associated with good times. If you're a regular reader of this space you know that JMac's past drug use has been an open secret and not discussed in proper tennis circles despite his ex wife's book exposing it. Bjorn Borg quit tennis at twenty five and proceeded to live a life of debauchery including admitted s&m frolics and drug use.

But all of this elicits a wink and a smirk from the average tennis fan. Which makes you wonder why the shock waves through not only tennis but newsrooms around the world about Martina Hingis. Late this afternoon CNN had the online equivalent of banner headlines about Martina's announcement. I guess the stock market falling 360 points wasn't newsworthy.

I admit my first reaction was total shock. I was speechless. Martina Hingis a coke head? Someone had to be joking. But it wasn't a joke. Martina faced the press and said that she had tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. She then went on to say she was not a drug abuser and that an independent test on her hair proved that she was innocent despite both samples coming back positive. And then in the most bizarre part of her statement she went on to say she was not going to fight to defend her name and that at 27 she was once again retiring from the sport she loves.

That is the part I don't get. Guillermo Canas, who ingested a banned substance provided to him by an ATP tour doctor is still fighting to clear his name. He's learned English so that he can follow the hearings he has to attend. The man lost 18 months of his life for something he did not intentionally do. If you are innocent Martina then why not fight it? Why not spend some of the millions you've made to prove your innocence and be able to stand up at Newport and listen to your greatness be praised by your peers?

I for one have never been a big fan of Ms Hingis. I didn't like the way her mouth seemed to outrun her brain off the court and the way she wore her arrogance like a merit badge. But in her second incarnation as a tennis player she seemed to have mellowed. She was giving credit to her opponents for their games. The sarcastic smirk was gone. She got engaged. It seemed her life was on track, that the Brat Princess had grown up.

I'm sure there are those who are going to say they knew something was wrong, that she was too thin, that Radek's breaking up with her so abruptly was an omen, blah, blah, blah. None of us on the outside had a clue hence the stunned reactions by the fans.

I also wonder if the person caught abusing drugs had been from South America or of African descent no matter their nationality would there still be the stunned reactions and "innocent until proven guilty" sentiments posted on fan boards? Why are so many willing to accept Martina's protestations of innocence no matter how bizarre and nonsensical?

So what led the WTA to have Martina tested for cocaine? What lab performed the hair test? Will the findings be published? Don't hold your breath for answers.

Larry Scott's statement is a marvel of lawyer speak but I'm not condemning the WTA here. Zero tolerance is zero tolerance. They let her leave with her dignity if not her reputation - her mother, who had been there for the good times was at her side for this very bad one. They both worked so hard for so long. Melanie Molitor, her once famous mane now gone smiled broadly for the cameras and urged her child to do the same. The cameras will be there for a different reason now won't they?

Craig has posted all the hard news Here

As fans of tennis to see Martina Hingis fall can't bring joy to anyone.

Super Saturday

by Savannah

I didn't buy my tickets from the USTA this year. I did re-up with them but until they stop their practice of making only the nosebleed seats available to members no matter how early you call in I'll take my chances elsewhere.

The seats I got for Super Saturday were in the lower promenade and with the mark up cost a fortune. Haruka and I weren't sure if we wanted to go and decided to at the last minute so we took what we could get.

As I posted earlier I wasn't keen on going yesterday but once out of the house and on the 7 train sitting across from two guys discussing Federer and Roddick the same way some sports fans discuss A-Rod and Jeter (Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter of the NY Yankees for those who don't follow baseball)I was back in the mood for tennis. The Federer fan was going on about the pursuit of perfection and how he sees Roger as someone who is doing that. The Roddick fan was saying that Andy is just trying to play good tennis and seemed to be back on track. Two Catalonian men, father and son, were talking next to them and stopped in mid sentence when the conversation turned to Nadal and his schedule. Seeing nothing bad was being said they went back to their own conversation.

I was eavesdropping on the pursuit of perfection conversation so it took awhile for me to realize there were a heck of a lot of people wearing NY Mets shirts in the same car as us. They weren't too happy when we got to Willets Point that the doors opened first for the US Open fans. Whatever.

It was brutally hot in New York yesterday, one of those 3H days we have here in the summer - hazy, hot and humid. I stopped and bought an umbrella at the US Open stand. It was pink. It was the only color they had. It came in handy later.

While there I saw the actor Joe Morton currently of the television show "Eureka" and famous for his role in "Brother From Another Planet". I'm a New Yorker. He looks like himself. No need to call out to him or anything. He and his date were looking for stuff to buy just like I was. No biggie.

It felt funny walking to Ashe past the silent Grandstand and Louis Armstrong stadiums. There was no churn of activity on the outer courts, no clusters of fans poring over the daily what's going on booklets that cost three dollars trying to decide who to go see first. There was only one game in town and it was in Arthur Ashe stadium. There were fans at the picture wall and fans getting their pictures taken at the Lexus stand but when all was said and done everyone ended up in Arthur Ashe stadium. When we sat down there was a decent breeze blowing. When that breeze stopped it was hell. Broiling hot hell. There is only one section of the stadium that stays in pretty constant shade and that is under the Olympus clock. If you are buying Promenade seats and intend to see day matches make sure you're in section 303 or so. You'll be hot but at least you won't feel like a frog in a pot of water that's getting gradually hotter. I felt sorry for the men who were going to play on the asphalt stadium floor.

The first match was Novak Djokovic vs David Ferrer. I had watched Ferrer beat Rafa the other night and follow up that victory with a win over Juan Ignacio Chela that got him to Super Saturday. That David Ferrer did not show up.

I have to admit I haven't followed Ferrer's career so I'm not sure how often he's played on the big stage. Yesterday he played like a guy who had wandered in off the street and maybe didn't belong on center stage. It didn't help that the match did not appear to be called fairly. Many of Djokovic's shots that were clearly out were called in. Many of Ferrer's shots that were in were called out. It didn't appear to me that Ferrer challenged any of the bad calls. Instead he kept playing and getting more and more frustrated. Maybe he was afraid to say anything because he does not speak English well. I don't know. But that match would have been much closer and less predictable if Ferrer had opened his mouth.

As for Djokovic I'm still underwhelmed by his tennis. His shots aren't all that. He makes them well but they're not spectacular. In person his game is pretty mundane. But he's getting all kinds of help from John McEnroe and I'm sure others in the American tennis establishment who now seem quite vested in his success. When asked after his victory yesterday what he was going to do next he said hit a few balls with JMac. Nice move Novak. He did go into his "I'm sick" routine by the way. Maybe it was in honor of Robert De Niro who was in the stands. I'm sure Mr. De Niro was unimpressed.

The true believers in both players were in the Promenade section - the blue seats. Young men and women wearing tee shirts with "Serbia" emblazoned on them were everywhere. Across from us were the flag wavers and other Serbian fans, old and young. Ferrer had good support as well in the nosebleed section and when he took that quick lead everyone was prepared to battle the sun as long as the match was good. When it became obvious that it was not going to be it was time to get relief from the sun.

I went on a water run and found out that lots of people were kicking back on the stairs or leaning over the railing watching the girls match going on on Court 11. It looked like a good match too. The reason everyone was out there was because the breeze was fantastic. It actually bordered on cold so needless to say I spent a more than a few minutes out there watching the girls play and enjoying the relief from the sun.

When I went back into Ashe the match had just ended and they were interviewing Novak who made his "I'm hitting with John McEnroe" statement. The Serbian flags were flying and Novak fans, including the middle aged woman who, though seemingly with a date had been screaming at Novak to go out with her, were celebrating. It's always good when your favorite wins. There was a Serbian couple next to us but they were pretty laid back except for the end of the match.

Needless to say the stands emptied- Federer's match would start at about 3:15 or so, and I put up my umbrella. We'd tried to put it up before but the matrons behind us said they couldn't see the court with it up. Another reason to go for the expensive seats next year we decided. There were some retrospectives for the past American greats, Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe, and another twelve year old came out to sing "America the Beautiful" which the fans treated as the singing of the National Anthem.

I don't know if I mentioned the twelve and thirteen year olds who would sing just before what was considered the main event. One thirteen year old girl we saw the other night would not have been carded at any club in NYC. I wonder what they're feeding kids these days. This young man started out nervous but finished strong. We all stood in honor of our country and then the players came out on court. Those in the tunnel interviews are seen on the jumbotrons in the stadium. When Fed came on his fans gave a big cheer.



The support for Davydenko was not as strong. He's number four in the world and yet most fans would probably trample him to get to other members of the top five. He too jumped out to a quick lead but as Yogi Berra said I felt like I was having deja vu all over again. When Roger got it even and then took the lead in the set I headed for the shade. It seems others felt the same way and there were people standing in the walkway watching. Guys with camera lens the size of small children muscled their way past us. They were followed by one of the Staff who began to ask for tickets and tell people they couldn't stand and catch the breeze there. It was a gazillion degrees in the sun. There was no one complaining. I guess she had her instructions but she could simply have said you're not allowed to stand here instead of coming on like gang busters.

So I went up the stairs and found tons of people standing there watching. That was more of a hazard than standing in the much wider walkway but the storm troopers didn't care if you stood there. Go figure. Anyway the breeze was just as good if not better than it was by the food stands and I stood there for awhile watching Roger take over the set and win.

If it had been less hot and there was shade cover somewhere I would have stayed and watched the entire match. Since I'm not a fanatic for either Roger or Kolya I decided it was time to leave. It seems like a lot of fans agreed with me.

I wondered about the decision to start the matches at high noon. I understand why they did it - the Women's final was that evening and CBS would want everything on time - but it is cruel and unusual punishment for fans and players alike. While it has been pretty cool most of the last two weeks that is the exception not the norm. It would make better sense to start the men's matches at 3p in my opinion and play both Finals at night. I know that won't ever happen - I read last night that the WTA is resisting any plan to start the US Open on Sunday, something that might allow a later start for the mens semi's - but to attend on Super Saturday you're shelling out a minimum of $100 American for a seat in the nosebleed section. You're paying to see tennis not shoot the breeze outside the court eating an overpriced hot dog and drinking tepid bottled water. I'm sure the ITF/USTA would prefer the fans to be in the seats too. The officials were telling people to take frequent breaks out of the sun which meant there were very few people in the blue seats, the home of real tennis fans.

I'll be watching the mens final today from the comfort of my own home, probably with the sound off. I expect history to be made.

The US Open - Super Saturday

I have to say I’m bummed.

If I hadn’t paid an arm and a leg to get tickets for Super Saturday out at the BJK National Tennis Center I’d stay home in air conditioned comfort, write, and watch the men’s semis on television, probably with the sound off. I’d tape the women’s final and watch it at some later date.

But I’m writing this on the fly as I get ready to go out. I’m writing this because I am surprised to read on so many fan boards and from the regular readers and posters on this and Craig’s blog that tennis is not on their agenda today. That is not good for tennis.

When dyed in the wool WTA fans berate that organization for creating such a ridiculous draw that the “real final” – even Mary Carillo called it that, was yesterdays semi final between Justine Henin and Venus Williams – and that tonight’s Final between Justine Henin and Svetlana Kuznetsova will only be watched by hard core tennis fans is sad. Forget that Justine had two days rest to Venus one day since the original schedule which had Venus playing on Tuesday was jury rigged because the match that would have happened Wednesday night was an insomnia cure. The entire women’s draw was rigged to favor one player who still could not make it to semi final day.

Venus is a professional tennis player. She lost. V-nuts are not happy. Moving on.

The match between Svetlana Kuznetsova and the up and coming Anna Chakvetadze was horrid. There are no other words to describe it. Anna got a big case of stage fright and while she didn’t pull a Tomas Berdych and throw in the towel she did the next best thing. Sveta, who can play great tennis, could barely get out of her own way for one entire set. She won the next two by keeping the ball in the court, something young Anna couldn’t do. Justine Henin will not be so forgiving Sveta. Based on what I observed in person the other night when Justine played Serena and overheard on the train going home Justine may be the best player right now but she is not, and never will be, a favorite. She has her fans, yes, but with Carlos Rodriguez admitting that he cheats and will continue to do so until someone stops him the two of them, while compiling the best record and playing the best tennis will never be “beloved” by the fans.

The mens semi finals? David Ferrer comes in carrying a lot of people’s hopes on his shoulders. This is his first Grand Slam semi final. Novak Djokovic? I literally fell asleep watching him play Haase the other day. Maybe it was fatigue. I hope so. I expect to see him go into his act today due to the heat of the day and hopefully the heat Ferrer will bring. Despite Novak’s being JMac’s new darling everyone, fortunately, is not on that bandwagon.



As for the other semi final match Nikolay Davydenko will face Roger Federer, or as he is called in some circles, The Name.
If you don’t get the reference find Marcos Baghdatis post match interview where he talks about simply the name of Roger Federer inspired awe. As I said writing this on the fly so I can’t quite remember where he said it – maybe in Cincy or in Montreal. Since Federer has played warm up matches of varying degrees of difficulty to reach the semi’s while Davydenko has actually played very well this may turn out to be a match. If it turns out to be 1,1,1 or something like that don’t blame me. I said it MAY turn out to be a match.


Gotta go. I’ll report my adventures at BJK later. Ciao.

The US Open - The Week in Review

by Savannah

Upset Saturday



There is no bigger story for week one than that of Maria Sharapova, the "Golden Girl" of the WTA going down in flames to eighteen year old Agniezska Radwanska of Poland. Despite losing the second set Aggie held her nerve and her serve and managed to force Maria into numerous unforced errors and double faults. Her aggressive challenge to Maria's second serves - at times she was almost on the service line - seemed to rattle the presumed US Open Women's Champion. In the end Maria, seemingly abandoned by her father when it was obvious she would lose, was left on court alone in her misery while Agniezska and her family along with new fans cheered.

I have said it before and I'll say it again. Cupcake draws do not champions make. It seemed as if heaven and hell were moved to make sure everyone who had beaten Maria this year was in the top half of the draw. By the way the top half now looks like a TD's wet dream. Venus. Serena. Justine. Ana. Jelena. Of the women remaining in the bottom half of the draw only Svetlana Kuznetsova has ever reached the Final of a Grand Slam. Will Sveta make it again or will it be someone new? I know Larry Scott and his posse did not intend it but the second week is going to be very interesting for the women of the WTA, and for tennis fans.



Donald Young's run at the Open ended with what I would call a good loss to Feliciano Lopez of Spain who won the match in four sets. I hope Donald doesn't fall for the hype and remains satisfied with his growth and on court abilities which are more than promising. Right now I see him having a career like that of Nikolay Davydenko, the type of player no one wants to see across the net. He could do worse. Donald has garnered many followers with his play the last few weeks.Here's hoping for a nice, modest 2008 for him.

Shahar Pe'er and Nicole Vaidisova played the best women's night match of the Open so far. It went three sets and rightly ended in a third set tie breaker which Pe'er managed to pull out. It was the type of match that would draw new fans to the sport. The level of play was great and there was no one who could say who the winner would be until the last return was played. Great "thinking" match ladies.



To complete upset Saturday Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea, who has had a very nice year thank you very much sent Andy Murray home in a four set thriller. He plays Nikolay Davydenko next.



In other news...

The Scandal Contines - More Revelations

As Nikolay Davydenko continues to defend himself against match fixing allegations and bad online jokes no one has spoken about the other man who is under investigation. Martin Vasallo-Arguello has to my knowledge not been the object of bad puns or serious scrutiny by the press yet his phone records have also been subpoenaed by investigators.

And while this is going on several players have come out and admitted that they've been approached and had the common sense to simply hang up on the callers. Seems the going rate was $50,000.00 USD.

For more on this part of the story read here:
**Source**

The French sports paper L'Equipe is also reporting that two other top ATP players have been approached by shady characters about throwing matches. "Madame" over at TAT did the translation for me.

Two stars of Tennis, who prefer to stay anonymous, have told the paper they have been contacted, even threatened, by malevolent people wishing to fake matches against large money sums which can reach the 50000$.
Internet and the on-line betting are at the origin of this attempted corruption. Betting on internet is something very hot today and explains the importance of the sums. Not very surprising revelations after the Davydenko story. The Russian, world N° 4, has abandoned on the second of August against the Argentine Martin Vassallo-Arguello in the third round of Sopot, Poland. A very strange drop-out that left most people dubitative.
As for the current number one Roger Federer, he has explained that he has never dealt with this kind of problem.

Tennisticious Blog

Heads Up Ladies!

I'm writing this on the morning of August 30, 2007. Murray vs Bjorkman is on. Jim Courier was commenting on the strategy being employed by AndyM and Jonas and then went on to say that the women players should be watching a match like this and taking notes. Courier said that most of the women simply come out and try to hit winners with no thought for strategy or tactics. Several players come to mind who fit the "mindless ball bashing" definition. Several come to mind who don't. I'm glad someone said it.

8/31/2007

Exhibition Matches vs Grand Slam Matches

So Maria Sharapova continues her exhibition matches while the women in the top half of the draw play the US Open. "Tenpre" on the ESPN Board posted the following comments.

Dear Pova

I am sure the sports press is going to say things like "Maria Dazzles the crowd", "Maria favorite to take 2nd USO" and blablabla, never even taking into consideration who you are playing.

The biggest problem I can see for you moving forward is how ready you will be for players from the "A TEAM" (Henins side of the draw). While bageling these cup cakes, you are not getting enough challenges. Playing cup cakes must feel like playing in "SLOW MOTION", and I wonder if you will be ready for the speed coming from any one of the A TEAM.

Has your dad or team ever thought of the possibilities that the BIG BEATINGS you have received at the hands of Serena, Ana, and Venus could be the result of your easy draws??? Being beaten so badly in 3 of the 4 slams plus Miami (the 5th slam) makes you a historical player as this has never happened before to the nr 2 player in the world EVER before in tennis HISTORY.

You will get through your B TEAM draw with flying colors but be ready for ANOTHER BIG BEAT DOWN in the finals against whoever comes out on top of the A TEAM.

Nothing more needs to be said. My friend Allison was in Ashe last night and said that no one came in until it was almost time for Blake/Santoro which turned out to be the match of the tournament so far. She also said that when Pova, not content with hitting to the latest cup cake across the net from her, started to complain about line calls she was roundly booed. I've been watching tennis for a long time. I've seen US Open night crowds up close and personal. I can safely say I have never seen a night crowd so quiet. Even the suits knew Pova's match was not watchable.



I almost felt sorry for Ted and Tracy who had nothing to do but read IMG talking points to each other trying to pump life into a lifeless match. I did say almost. Ted made a comment last night that if he were a commentator for any other sport would get him banned from the booth.
He said that Santoro's win over then number 10 in the world Gaston Gaudio at the 2006 Australian Open wasn't important. It was left to JMac, who had earlier compared Pova to Nadal in terms of her on court play to call Robinson on that nonsense. As for Pova being comparable to Rafa Pova would make a first round exit if she'd had to face some of the draws Rafa has had to face.

9/1/2007

Tennis Outside the Lines

The NY Times printed a very nice article about tennisheads who play hooky from work in order to catch the early round play at BJK in it's Metro Section on August 31, 2007.

Unlike a lot of other major sports events — the World Series and the Super Bowl, for example — much of the play at the Open, which lasts two weeks, takes place during weekday hours. Yet many New Yorkers, not a lot known for a lax work ethic, manage a day trip to Flushing Meadows in Queens, where they join the tourists, retirees, children and full-time mothers on the stadium grounds.

Mr. Shulkin said that he skipped out on his job on Tuesday, not to mention the day before. “I help a friend with a hedge fund,” he said, adding that his line of work gives him a lot of autonomy. He paused to applaud a backspin lob that Mr. Santoro had hit from midcourt, which barely cleared the net then bounced backward onto his own side of the net. Even Mr. Santoro’s opponent, finally, cracked a weary smile.

“This kid still doesn’t know what hit him,” Mr. Shulkin said of Mr. Montanes.

The outer courts at the Open, where lesser-known players contend in earlier rounds, are where you’re most likely to find office-deserting tennis fanatics at midday. Another fellow who sat a few rows up in the bleachers at the Santoro match looked the part — worsted trousers, sports jacket slung over shoulder, briefcase — and turned out to have fled a conference at the Grand Hyatt.

“The conference was getting boring,” said the man, who added that he was in town from St. Louis. “I look for a reason to get to New York during the Open every year. And I wanted to come today and see the Santoro match. His game is unique.”

Mr. Santoro delighted his fans again yesterday. Though he lost his five-set match, against sixth-seeded James Blake, it was hard-fought.

On Wednesday morning, a pair of women in shorts and tank tops sat on the No. 7 train as it ran from Grand Central to Flushing. They were also AWOL, more or less, and they were planning to watch “a friend of a friend of mine from London who’s playing Rafael Nadal today,” said one of them, Jamie Lewis, 31.

“I sent an e-mail to my boss at midnight, said I’ll be out tomorrow and you can reach me on my cell, and turned my computer off. The markets are crazy and I work at a hedge fund, so I thought I’d escape.”

Ms. Lewis’s friend, who identified herself as Patricia, said she works for an Internet company and added, “I called in sick. Can’t you tell?” She held the back of her hand against her forehead."I canceled some meetings.”

Fleeing the Office For Tennis

ATP Brave New World

Thanks to strategic leaks the formal announcement of the changes the ATP wants to institute was almost anti-climactic. The only winners in this are the American Tour Directors who want to force the European players to play in the States more often. If they don't play they are penalized. Nice way to foster good will people.

A new American Woman?

Ahsha Rolle also landed on peoples radar this week making it to the third round before losing to Dinara Safina. The only issue with Ahsha is her fitness. Her parents are both big people and there is not much that can be done to counter genetic dispositions. I do think that she should strive to get as fit as she can so that her wins will not be made light of. The USTA high performance program has taken her under their wings so that she should be getting everything she needs to make her a success including diet and nutrition advice. It's not insulting to your parents to slim down Ahsha. It'll make all the time and effort they've put into your tennis education worthwhile. Marion Bartoli is losing the extra weight she put on for a reason.

This and That

• Some wits on the ESPN board have declared Maria Sharapova the winner of the 2007 Beat Down Slam thanks to her losses in Australia, Paris, London and New York as well as in the unofficial Fifth Slam, Miami. What to say? Somehow congratulations seems inappropriate no?

Speaking of the Beat Down Slam I guess this is the time to mention the Brawl in the Booth.

• Jim Courier has joined the chorus of commentators blasting Aggie Radwanska for daring to play tennis against the Pova gil. Shame on you Jim. Aggie wasn't dancing a jig while Maria served. She was employing - dare I say it - strategy. She was thinking on court Jim, something you went on a bit of a rant about earlier in the week if I recall correctly. The person who wasn't thinking on court is the one who lost. I do think it's kind of funny for you to get into a verbal battle with Tracy Austin, no favorite of mine by the way, on this issue. I wasn't home to see you storm out of the booth. Sorry I missed that. If the Maria apologists have no argument other than to pile on an eighteen year old who, by the way, has been on tennishead radar for the last couple of years, then their favorite player is in worse shape than previously thought. It's bad enough WWE head honcho Vince McMahon seemed to have set up the women's draw. Do tennis commentators have to resort to WWE tactics in the broadcast booth as well? What next? Someone shows up with Jim Courier's love child? Shame on you Jim.

One cup of STFU for table one please. Thank you.

• Richard Gasquet withdrew from his second round match with a viral infection. What does go on in those locker rooms?

• Novak Djokovic and Radek Stepanek played a thrilling five setter. Five sets. You know Mr. Djokovic used some of his infamous tactics to take rests during this match. No howling from Courier, JMac or anyone else who worships at the shrine of Novak though. He's just a breath of fresh air. Uh-huh.


End Note

"Graf_Sampras", one of my favorite tennis heads, posted this speculation on All Court Game

Just what is in Roger's manpurse?

little replicas of his trophies?
little Roger dolls?
a make up kit of course
fingernail polish
air freshener
lipstick and gloss
eye shadow
eyebrow pencil , tweezer and comb
hair curlers
hairpins
extra tooth enamel and brightener
pictures of .. u know ... roger
pictures of ....u know... marat and rafa and andy
phone number of ITF ATP officials
designer "vitamins"
mirka's scouting reports
john isner's vital statistics
john isner's plane itinerary , just in case
serena's catsuit seamstress' phone
john isner's favorite snack

Thank you for this G_S!!!

The Winners

Junior Girls


Alize Cornet French Open Girls Champion

Junior Boys


Vladimir Ignatic Frency Open Boys Champion

Legends


John McEnroe and Anders Jarryd Senior Mens Doubles Champions

Congratulations to them all!

Can I Get A What What?

In news that must have shocked absolutely no one Roger Federer has ended his two plus year association with Tony Roche. The break comes at at time when the Swiss master is struggling to find his bearings after losing to Guillermo Canas twice, Rafa in Monte Carlo and an exhibition, and Volandri in Rome.

With the break coming so close to the French Open I doubt if anyone will be filling the spot of coach with Roger anytime soon. Roger is working with a left handed junior player and has said he needs more practice time than match play.

Craig has posted an excellent report of a typical Federer practice Here
This is the second time I've read such a report.

The story is still developing at this time but in my opinion the big question is who will Roger tap to put him back on track? Does anyone have the cojones to step into the pressure cooker that job will be? Egos run rampant in broadcasting booths but will any of the mouths almighty put himself in the running?

If the pick is European I'm sure we Americans won't know much about him. I can be proven wrong, but will Federer pick one of his leather lunged admirers or someone who will kick his ass into gear?

If he goes with the later will he listen to the man he chooses? Ironically the first name that came to mind after I thought about it a bit was Paul Annacone. He dealt with the notoriously difficult Sampras for many years and may be able to put the Fed Express back on track but the Brits have him working for the LTA right now. The second name that popped into my head was John McEnroe but I'd have to be the one selling the tickets to that show. I'm not familiar enough with the Europeans to comment which of them would be a good fit.

Or will Roger choose to go it alone again?

Rafael Nadal Breaks John McEnroe's Record

by Craig Hickman

It was far from easy. But Rafael Nadal outbattled Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(3) 6-7(8), 6-4 in an epic 3 1/2-hour nailbiter to bring his claycourt winning streak to 76 matches. With the win, he breaks John McEnroe's 75-match winning streak on indoor carpet, and stands alone among men with the longest winning streak on a single surface in the Open Era.

This was a grueling, all-out war of attrition. Rafa was no where near his best and Kolya dictated play for most of the match with his flat deep shots that dragged the Spaniard all over the dirt. But Rafa, who arguably has the biggest heart on the men's tour, fought his nerves, his fatigue, and his relentless opponent to finally take the match on his first match point.

Continue Reading

Serve and Volley - A Surprising History

Two of my favorite tennisheads, the man calling himself "Edma", and the inimitable "Graf_Sampras" posted this on the ESPN board. When you think of serve and volley the first names to come up are Laver, Sampras, McEnroe, Becker. What you probably don't know is that the man who was the true King of Serve and Volley, the man who caused the tennis establishment to change the rules so that he could not come in and had to play from the baseline was Ricardo Alonzo "Pancho" Gonzalez. Here's an excerpt from the article followed by a link to the entire article.

As a kid, I would watch McEnroe play Borg, then head out, wooden Dunlop Maxply in hand, and stand in front of a school wall volleying like Johnny Mac. The goal was to hit the ball as many times as possible without letting it hit the ground.

But McEnroe was not the prototype. Jean Borotra (“the Bounding Basque”) was the first truly world-famous serve-and-volleyer, one of France’s “Four Musketeers,” who dominated tennis in the late twenties and early thirties. Borotra started playing while serving in the French army and developed a style in which, according to tennis histor-ian Arthur Voss, “he sought [the net] at every opportunity.”

Borotra was followed by Pancho Gonzalez, who grew up playing on the concrete courts of South Central Los Angeles and was never embraced by the wasp tennis establishment. A loner with an explosive temper who only grew more effective when angry, Gonzalez played a serve-and-volley game so devastating that tournament organizers briefly changed the rules in order to prevent him from coming to the net immediately after serving.
Legendary Australian player Rod “the Rocket” Laver, though skilled from the backcourt, came in incessantly and won all four of the major singles titles (Wimbledon and the Australian, French, and US Opens) twice each, becoming the only double Grand Slammer in the history of the game. Laver’s style inspired the generation of great serve-and-volley players led by McEnroe, Edberg, and Boris Becker.

Starting in the midseventies, however, technological advances and the popularization of tennis set the stage for the demise of the serve-and-volley ethos.

The entire article is here:

Walrus Magazine

For more on "Pancho" the man read this article.

Pancho Gonzalez: The Greatest Tennis Player of All Time

The Power of Perception

Sam Querrey is being touted as American tennis next great male star. At nineteen he’s been taken under the wing of the best minds the American tennis establishment can offer. Training at Andy Roddick’s place in Austin with Jimmy Connors sometimes in attendance has occurred. He could be playing for Stanford but has opted to go pro instead. He’s been doing well and playing as well as can be expected at this stage of his career.



Vania King is a young American who has opted for the tennis court choosing it over a career in the concert hall. A fine singer she would rather use her body than her vocal cords. She turned pro towards the end of last year and also has a bright future ahead of her.



Chan Yung-jan from Taipei is seventeen and despite her age is now ranked at number 93 in the world. She is a fierce competitor and there has been some buzz about her on the women’s circuit.

What do these young people have in common? Ms Chan beat the Spanish woman Nuria Llagostera Vives to move into the second round and a chance to play Maria Sharapova. Vania King beat Sun Tian-tian in the first round for a chance to meet Justine Henin. And Sam Querrey won his first round match for the chance to meet Roger Federer in the second round. Vania lost to Henin 6-4, 6-1. Chan lost to Sharapova 6-3 and 6-2. And yes Sam lost to Roger 6-4, 6-3. I didn’t see Vania King’s match against Henin. I did see parts of Chan/Sharapova and Querrey vs Federer.

One of my guilty pleasures on television is the TLC show “Moving Up” which features people moving from smaller homes or apartments to larger ones or people leaving the nest for the first time and striking out on their own. Last night’s edition featured a couple who bought a home from an older couple who were moving out of the house where they'd raised their children. When the new owners started in on the kitchen which had a sloped floor the previous owners claimed was a figment of their imagination they found that there was a flaw their inspection hadn’t turned up. When they pulled up the floor they found that they’d been deceived and that at any time they, or one of their children, could fall through it to the crawlspace. Even worse, electrical wiring had been jury rigged and was not shielded, a fire hazard. It cost them twelve grand to get the hazards fixed. The previous owners swore up and down they had not known about the hazards. We see the contractor the couple had hired telling them the wiring was jury rigged to put the dishwasher in and that if they noticed the cabinets were painted white so that the visible now visible water damage could be concealed. The previous owners wife swore she spent all of her time in the kitchen and had not noticed the sloped floor or that there was any water damage. They just happened to paint the cabinets white to hide the water damage the viewer is forced to conclude.

So what does this have to do with tennis? For some reason TTC is not showing the WTA matches during it’s regular schedule. This isn’t a column about that but I should mention that fans of the WTA are mad as hell and want to know why. After Fed’s match late last night suddenly a woman’s match appeared on TTC. Did we see the Kuznetsova match which ended after one in the morning with Sveta pulling out a gutsy win? Did we see Venus match against Maria Kirilenko one that had fans salivating? Did we see Serena’s match against up and comer Anastasia Rodionova? Nope. We saw Maria Sharapova vs Chan Yung-Jan. It should be mentioned that this is an IMG sponsored event and that it should come as no surprise that they’d go with the Sharapova match over any number of matches available, including a live one that had gone to a third set. I should mention in passing that I was watching Star Sports. My cable provider doesn’t provide TTC. I send begging emails every month or so but they’re busy doing other things. I can get Gol TV, the Golf Channel, and bass fishing but no Tennis Channel. But I digress.

It is the job of a tennis commentator to comment about the match in front of them. The best at this are the BBC announcers who have this quaint notion of discussing the match at hand. I know about them again because without TTC I have to rely on internet live feeds. MastersSeries TV doesn’t work for me. But again I digress. This young woman, I never got her name, who was one of the commentators for the Sharapova match did nothing but try and sell us on the product named Maria Sharapova. Maria works so hard. I played against her when we were younger and she would be out there all day hitting balls and playing harder than anyone else she said. She’s dedicated to tennis. She’s really a champion. She’s worked hard to get everything. Even the male commentator jumped in from time to time to say that while Maria is truly beautiful she is really a competitor. All of this while double faults were flying off of her racquet left and right. I didn’t hear any discussion of what was going on in the match. I have to say I didn’t hear it because I didn’t make it through fifteen minutes of commentary before turning the sound off which meant I turned the match off since I wasn’t watching television I was watching an internet feed. If Ms Sharapova had been playing someone like say Maria Kirilenko she would probably have been out of this event. Instead the young and still inexperienced Ms Chan was thrown under a bus and allowed the commentators to declare Maria Sharapova was a world beater last night.

From what I heard of the Federer/Querrey match the same form of commentary was being used. No one who follows tennis thought that Querrey had a snowballs chance in hell of beating Roger. Instead of showing the much more exciting conclusion to the Guillermo Canas/Juan Carlos Ferrero match and cutting back to show how badly Roger was dismembering Querrey we got Roger beating up on Sam. I do have to say they weren’t totally stupid on the men’s side. Once Roger’s match was over they switched to Canas/Ferrero and fans got to see Canas pull out a win over a determined Ferrero. Every tennis fan knows Canas kicked Roger to the curb at IW in the first round. Canas next opponent is Richard Gasquet. I should mention that Roger’s new BFF, Tiger Woods, and his wife were in the stands. There were lots of shots of Tiger and his Missus just in case you forgot these two are now BFF. (Best friends forever. I have a teenager.)

The commentators did their equivalent of painting the cabinets white. IMG as a sponsor has every right to showcase their talent. What bothers me is that there are plenty of stars in the tennis universe and they are getting short shrift. As a fan I wanted Juanqui to do well even though I wanted Willy Canas to win if that makes sense. I wanted to see Sveta fight through fatigue to win her match. I wanted to see Venus, serving at 42% on her first serve win every one of them. I wanted to see Serena play because of the rumors floating around that she was going to withdraw. I want to see the Mattek’s, the Bondarenko’s, the Larcher de Brito’s of the tennis world. Henin is the woman’s number one. I’m not a fan of the woman but I like her tennis. Didn’t she deserve some air time? I want to see Marion Bartoli play because somehow she keeps winning. I want to know how long it’s going to take for the light bulb to go off in her head that if she gets fitter she can go deeper in events like this and maybe hit the top ten. I would love to have seen Schnyder go down to Kaia Kanepi in straights. What about Haas losing to Falla? None of this made television except for Juanqui and Willy and they made it because Willy managed to beat the men’s number one, the man some are declaring the greatest of all time.



There is talk of John McEnroe becoming some kind of tennis commissioner, the Paul Tagliabue of tennis I guess. In view of the moves the ATP and WTA are making which seem to favor American tennis over tennis played anywhere else I don’t think this would be a good idea at this time. The players haven’t gone for the okey-doke and the fissures that are being created threaten the sport of tennis which has always been an international sport. Tennis fans keep world clocks to give the time in London, Paris, Barcelona, Melbourne, Tokyo, Dubai and Shanghai. Favorite players can come from any part of the globe and be of any nationality or ethnic group. And this will continue to happen. Personally I'd love to see former NYC Mayor David Dinkins take on this role. He's a fan and has been known to move heaven and hell to give tennis it's due. And after being mayor of New York City I think he's ready to tackle some of the issues facing tennis with a much cooler head and fewer ties that bind than a former player would.

The tennis powers that be can keep painting the cabinets white. Someone is going to come along and pull up the floor and see the mess underneath. And they’re not going to eat the cost of the repairs.

Andy Roddick Gets Some Respect

Great read from Craig's blog about Davis Cup play and prima donna's. And of course Andy Roddick.



Andy Roddick: Flagship for American Tennis