US Open 2010 Miscellany 9/3/2010

by Savannah

Melanie Oudin seems to think American tennis begins and ends with her. I understand the intent of her words but it still comes off sounding "I, I, me, me". There are two American women ranked significantly ahead of her. I'm just sayin'.

....Oudin is keeping tabs on Capra, who goes by the nickname Trice, pronounced "Tree-See."
"I'm really, really happy that she's done well," said Oudin, who is about 6 1/2 months older. "For me, especially, I'm, like, great with the other American girls doing well, because she can take some of the stuff away from me. With her doing well, there can be more of us for people to pay more attention to, instead of, like, just me. The past year, it's been mainly on me."

Sports Illustrated
I appreciate the explanation of Beatrice Capra's nick name. For a minute there I thought Al Trautwig had gone off the deep end.

The Brawl

Why am I not surprised this is now available for our viewing pleasure. Glad to see the older man come to his daughter's defense.


You never know how cultural differences affect the viewing of an event unless you post on/read a fanboard. To me the young man mouthing off to a woman old enough to be his mother and then shoving a man obviously old enough to be his grand father is appalling. Others see it as the two older adults ganging up on a guy who was exercising his God given right to be obnoxious.
I am an "elder" now and to this day I still address people older than me as "Mr." or "Miss" and I raised my daughter this way. In my opinion as soon as the woman told he he was an asshole he should've shut up. And I'm not budging from that view.

The Venus and Serena Williams Show

From the minute Venus Williams walked on court she stole the show. Not a ball had been struck but everyone watching in the stadium and on television got stars in their eyes when Venus removed her warm up jacket. Still pictures do not do this kit justice. It sparkled and glowed with every movement Venus made whether walking or playing.

Was it short? Yes.

Was she tugging at it all night? Yes.

Did she prepare for every contingency? Yes

Was Serena outdone? I don't think so.

The highlights of the evening were Serena interviewing her sister live on air and then sitting down to do commentary with the McEnroe brothers. It was interesting to hear Serena comment on the featured men's match and to note that when a point was being played she would go silent, something the "pros" don't always do.
It was a great evening for women's tennis and one that should happen more often.

End Note

I hope you enjoyed the pictures taken at the US Open by a fellow tennis fan Jeremy Hurd. I found them while surfing tennis boards and was struck by their quality and how he managed to capture the essence of each player. The picture of Fernando Verdasco is my favorite since it shows the man behind the "Hot" reputation.
Great work Jeremy.