U.S. Men Flame Out at U.S. Open

A couple of weeks ago, I wondered if American tennis was positioning itself to improve, overall, in the grand scheme of things. Instead of having guys win smaller hard court tournaments (like Sam Querrey did in LA) or having guys give gutty performances while still ending up on the short end of the stick (like Andy Roddick did at Wimbledon), I am hoping that American tennis players can get it done on the big stage. So, how do I feel now that we've reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open?

Umm, well, uh, I think, hmm, I'm not sure.

On one hand, it's a telling sign that no American man made the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open for the first time in the history of the tournament. That, in and of itself, is quite a sobering statement. However, if we're all being real, our tennis wagon has been hitched to Andy Roddick ever since Andre Agassi retired, so once John Isner knocked him out in the 3rd round, our hopes were dashed. Isner lost in the 4th round to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and that was that.

However, a lot of movement was made by American men in the early rounds of the U.S. Open. Roddick, Isner, James Blake, Taylor Dent, Jesse Witten, and Sam Querrey all made the 3rd round of the tournament. That's six players in the round of 32, which isn't bad, all things considered. The problem is that only one of those six advanced to the next round, and none of them advanced to the quarterfinals. Is this a good thing? I say yes. Sure, Roddick should have gone further, but Witten, Querrey, and Isner are all young players who may be able to advance further in the future. Dent was lucky to get that far, to be honest, and Blake is a good player who will always be seeded in the 20s, making his trip to the quarters pretty tough. Regardless, bringing back Roddick, Blake, Isner, and Querrey (and maybe Witten who surprised this year but can't yet be counted on for repeated success) next year should net us a quarterfinalist.

Even still, asking for a quarterfinalist isn't what I'm doing here. I want a semifinalist at worst and a champion at best. There's no reason the United States of America shouldn't produce at least two world-class tennis players at any given time. Yes, the troika of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and Jim Courier was a fluke and we'll never be able to produce three top players at once. However, having more than a Roddick bullet in the gun wouldn't hurt. Maybe Isner can use his performance in New York as a springboard to bigger and better things. I've been impressed with the progress made by Querrey, and hope that he can eventually make the move from good player to Top 10 player.

Despite the amount of players in the 3rd round, I would call this year's U.S. Open a failure for American players. One guy in the 4th round and no quarterfinalists is a pretty poor showing. Watching the Open is one of my favorite summer pastimes, but I can only imagine how much better it will be when I have a host of American players to root for along the way.

So, is American tennis getting better? Yes, but it's clearly not good enough.

~~ Lank

Wake Up, the U.S. Open is On

The organizers of the U.S. Open enjoy their night matches because it supposedly draws better TV ratings, allows more of a crowd to show up after work, and brings a bit of style to the tournament with tennis being played under the lights. The only problem (and it's a big one) is that a lot of those same TV viewers and in-person crowd members aren't around for the last match of the night (morning?).

I must admit, I'm part of the problem.

People like me continue to convince the organizers that late night tennis is a good idea because people can afford to stay up and watch the matches shake out. Never mind the fact that I have nobody to call at 1:45 in the morning when the final match has concluded. Apparently, there are enough people who watch like I do, because the schedules remain the same year after year. Don't get me wrong, I like night tennis, and I think it brings a certain glitz to such a major event. However, making the matches begin earlier wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Think about it, you can have a match with a 9 pm start time that will reasonably get over at 12 am at the latest. Yes, some marathon matches will go longer, but the average match tops out at 3 hours. For instance, if you want Andy Roddick's match to come behind Serena Williams's match for TV ratings, start Serena at 7 pm on Court 2 and then start Roddick on Ashe Stadium court at 9 pm. There may be a drop-off in attendance at one of the matches since they could overlap one another, but people aren't exactly coming out in droves at 1 am, either.

Andy Roddick's match last night (Monday) began a little after 11 pm. That's ludicrous. Thank goodness he absolutely dumptrucked Bjorn Phau or else I would have gotten to bed even later than the 1 am or so I finally did. If one of the men's later round matches begins at 11ish, there's a very good chance that it'll run well past 1 am, which is entirely too late for TV viewers and crowd members alike. Think about the crowd that could watch Serena (in the above example) and then head over to watch Roddick afterwards. Both matches seen by more crowd members and TV audiences due to a slight adjustment in time.

I got a text message from Big Brother earlier telling me that he really enjoys the night tennis matches. I agree. They're phenomenal. However, 'night' can be done at 9 pm just as easily as 12 am. As long as it's dark, the match is going to look sexy to the TV audience. If you keep STARTING the matches later than most people's bedtime, you're doing nothing but keeping an audience from a great event.

In that case, what am I supposed to talk about with my co-workers the next day if most of them went to bed before the match even began?

~~Lank

Is American Tennis on the Come Up?

I consider myself an average tennis fan. I watch the Grand Slam tournaments very, very closely; latch on to other important tournaments throughout the year (Indian Wells, Montreal, Cincinnati, etc.), and maybe check the results of the smaller tournaments that occur in the intermediate time. However, I strongly support American athletics of all kind, and tennis is no different. My favorite players are always American; I always convince myself that American tennis is on the rise; and I hope and pray that some Yanks defend home turf each September at the U.S. Open (which is what sparked the idea for this post in the first place).

But is American tennis in good shape?

The simple answer is no. We have one elite men's player (Andy Roddick) and the Williams sisters on the women's side. That's it. Yes, Bob and Mike Bryan are, arguably, the best men's doubles team in the world, but let's be real, nobody follows doubles tennis. However, if you look more deeply at things, the American tennis scene isn't as barren nor depressing as you might think. The results at the top level haven't been there since the days of Sampras/Agassi/Courier, but several young players are showing promise.

With that in mind, I strongly urge you to read ESPN.com's Greg Garber's analysis on the state of American tennis. He delves MUCH more deeply into the issues facing tennis in this country than I could ever dream of. It's well-written and well-thought-out, and gives a lot of pros and cons about the sport in the States. Here are Part I, Part II, and Part III. Read them all at once or read them in separate sittings, I don't care. But you will be doing yourself a favor by reading them.

At worst, when American tennis makes its resurgence (here I go again), you'll be able to tell your friends, "I told you so."

~~ Lank

Radio Wimbledon: My New Best Friend

Work can get boring. Especially when you work in an office building with rows and rows and rows of cubicles, constantly reminding you that you're one of many worthless minions all running the same rat race. When something comes along to break up the monotony, it might as well be christened as a savior.

My newest savior is Radio Wimbledon.

By broadcasting a live feed straight into my headphones at my desk, Radio Wimbledon allows me to hear all of the matches on the main two courts (Centre Court and Court 1). Since Andy Roddick, my favorite tennis player, has played most of his matches on Court 1, I've been able to follow along all tournament. The fact that lovely London is 5 hours ahead means that the action is just cranking into high gear as I enter the workplace. Today's Roddick-Lleyton Hewitt match was spectacular and thanks to my new best friend, I didn't miss a single stroke.

Had I been at home, is there any way I would've listened to nearly 4 hours of a single tennis match on the radio? Highly unlikely. I would've watched the TV coverage, but that's much easier to follow than radio. However, boredom at work means that the tennis match instantly became my number-one priority, allowing me to knock out the hours of 11am-3pm without a problem. Luckily, I sit alone in my group of cubes, so nobody saw me fist-pumping and slamming my head on my desk as the peaks and valleys of the match unfolded.

An underrated part of listening to the matches is the actual commentary that Radio Wimbledon announcers provide. They're usually middle-aged British men who use their awesome accents to produce some rather funny palaver. Some highlights from today's game:

-- "Well, that was a donkey drop; it looked like something you might hit." Apparently, a donkey drop is a rather slow serve.

-- "I tell you, this Roddick is pure showbiz." Not quite sure what he meant by this, but it sounded complimentary.

-- "Trust me, there's more to that story from Saturday night than we can share on the broadcast." Translation, these two old Britons threw back a few pints the night before Middle Sunday and got into some mischief.

-- "Those chants are up there with the finest lyrics of our time." A sarcastic reply to the Aussies constantly chanting, "LET'S GO HEWITT." Apparently, our elderly friends enjoy originality in their cheers.

-- "It helps Roddick that he can take a gander at his shelf of aces and say, 'I'll take this one.'" Probably my favorite quote of the match, the announcers were in awe of Roddick's seemingly endless array of rocket serves that allowed him to crawl out of hole after hole. He had 43 aces in the match, FYI.

As you can tell, there's a lot of quality stuff going on with the broadcasts at Radio Wimbledon. It's not just that it breaks up the monotony of my work day, it's that it does it with such flair. I'm really going to miss these guys next week. Hopefully, Roddick wins Sunday's Final and an American reigns supreme again at Wimbledon.

Otherwise, I'm not going to have anything to look forward to celebrating on Monday morning since my new best friend will be leaving me for 50 weeks.

~~ Lank