Yes, me too. I don't know if they were drunk, or giggling because they knew they were on camera, or wishing they could get a front view of him changing his shirt... it was just odd.

I hope the Bryan boys finally win. I think they've been the runner-ups at every single slam this year. They deserve to have more than one slam win.

I think the winner of mmmmmmMaria/Kim wins. Still hoping for a Kim win.

I know that Hewitt has lost to Federer the last 8 times, but I'm still hoping there's a chance he steps it up and beats him. Reading Federer's smug comments up above makes me dislike him even more, if that were possible. What a horrible display by Nalbandian last night. Simply embarrassing.

Regarding Blake/Agassi
From Extreme Tennis News:

In the player profile he pronounced it Day-vid, because he was speaking English. But when he speaks Spanish, he pronounces it Da-veed. Which to me, as Spanish is my first language, sounds so much better. But that's just me.

I'm so happy they are showing the men's doubles finals today. Woo hoo! Since they showed the mixed finals on USA, I think that maybe the women's finals will be shown as well.

I am probably in the vast minority here but I actually miss Hewitt's come ons. he has been really subdued this tournament but I think some of his fireness that I like is gone too. I have never had a problems with Hewitt's getting excited over a point. It has been his stuff like yelling at the linespeople (and the Blake and "poof" incident), general tendency to avoid fans at tournaments, and occasional off court surliness that have bugged me and can make me dislike Hewitt.

I like having a mix of personalites on court and to me- a calm Federer is great, as is an excited Hewitt. I would hate it if all players felt the pressure to all act the same and to contain their excitement that they would normally express on court. There are many different shadings of personality out there, and that is how I like it.

And I do think the criticism for player behavior is uneven. Hewitt and increasingly Nadal are critisized for being excited (though Lleyton more)- while I didn't really see anyone comment about Blake waving Nadal's ball out during their third round match. I have never seen Lleyton or Rafael do anything like that. In fact, one of the few comments I did see about the waving out was when a New York sports writer praised it as being funny. Can you imagine the heat Hewitt or even Nadal would have caught if they did that?




I like the Spanish pronounciation much better myself. If I recall correctly, a couple of years ago didn't he ask that the press call him Da-veed? Many still don't so maybe he gave up. I was surprised to hear him say Day-vid in the profile- because I have heard him say Da-veed in the past.

So am I, even if it is not going my way, but we have a news break from noon until 12:30 so we'll see. . .

I uploaded some photos from this year's US Open. Let me know if you cannot access them. When I was scanning these in I noticed I was missing the roll from the first day so I will add them when I find the roll.

eta: sad, oh so sad. And I call bullshit on the US Open radio guy going on and on about how happy "American" fans are for the "win for America." The Bryan brothers were not playing for America (and they shouldn't have been) and Jonas and Max were not playing against America. I'm a proud American who wanted the other guys to win.

LT-

No kidding. This is not the Olympics or even the Davis Cup. Yesh. Why has tennis become so much more jingoistic here in the US in the past decade? You can be a proud American who gasp....sometimes likes players from other countries. Why was that forgotten?

I'm happy for the BBs because they were 0-3 in grand slam finals this year and so glad they have come through. But I am not blindly happy for them because of their passport.

Maybe I am being overly sensitive because I love Max, and there are many stories out there (including by Nick Bolleteri who adores him) about what a great, caring guy he is.

Okay, US Open Radio is now going off permantly. The announcer just said it was "a great day for America." Huzzawhat? Did he not hear Max talk about growing up in Brooklyn and loving it here? Going on and on about each American player makes us American-borns look so elitist. So many of the players from other countries live and train here and love this country too.

I don't see anything wrong with the American commentators pushing for the Bryan boys. They are Americans playing in the U.S. Open. There's always so much talk about how the French fans want a French person to win the French Open and let's not forget, the saga of Tim Henman being constantly reminded by Brits that it's been umpteen years since a Brit won Wimbledon.

So for Americans to win the U.S. Open, yeah, they are happy for America. Even with this year they made comments about how there's no American woman in the semis for the first time in 10 years, and that on the men's side, it is guaranteed that an American man will be in the final.

I'm going to the Open this afternoon to work at Smash Zone. Will there be any matches of note to watch on the outer courts during breaks? I think I picked the wrong day to volunteer.

On the outer courts? There's really not much, just juniors and wheelchair and maybe some of the oldies (uh, "masters"). I do think that the highly touted junior boy, Donald Young, plays today though, so maybe you could make it to see him.

Hmmmm…
Here is the link for the schedule
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/index.html

Donald Young will be playing in the boy’s quarterfinals shortly and then later in the boys doubles.

Monsaur Bahrani (he is a real character) will be playing in the above 45- doubles against Guillermo Villas (he of the several Grand Slam titles,crap hair and child bride) so that could be interesting.

Because Chesty LaRue, if we root for "non-Americans", they (the terrorists) win. Don't ask why, but it just is.
I happen to root for a lot of players: anyone who hustles and gives their best always gets a bonus point. If they're older and have fallen on hard times, so much the better. I'm a softie, so Mary Pierce? Kim Clijsters? I'm rooting for both of you.
Federer? The guy is fun to watch because he is sooo darn good. It's like a mini tennis clinic every time he plays. Not a lot of personality (Ginepri too) but they play some damn fine tennis.

Announcer jingoism? I've gotten so used to it here in the States I just tune it out. It's so refreshing to go anywhere else and find there are "homers" who root for the home team but most announcers (presenters) tend to call the action and forget the politics or allegiances of the day. My guess is the American announcers are trying to recruit more fans to the sport and by trotting out the red, white, and blueness.

For our next act, Distant Sun and I will juggle while singing Crowded House tunes.

As you can imagine, I was disappointed in the match last night, although not surprised. I did expect Nalby to come with his "A" game, though. That was upsetting. I had hoped he'd take at least one set off Federer.

Re: David, I assumed he just gave up on English speakers when he said "My name is Day-vid Nalbandian." He's always said that it's Dah-veed, which I have to second jimena on; it just sounds better, IMHO.

Re: surly, I don't think anyone performing that badly is going to be in the best of moods.

There was an article in today's NY Times about the "East Coast feed" issue. The writer blamed CBS for the whole fiasco, saying (and I agree) that CBS should just have allowed USA to continue coverage.

I'm cranky that I'm at work sans television and won't be able to watch the ladies' semifinal matches. At least I'll be happy with any pair of winners...but, having said that, go Kim!

That is all.

So, the list of items the players are donating to the Katrina relief effort has been announced, and, let's see... Serena Williams is donating her $40,000 earrings -- nice work, Serena, you got it right eventually... and Maria Sharapova, the reigning queen of endorsements is donating... a SHIRT?!!! (Let's hope it's diamond-encrusted.)

I know it's the thought that's supposed to count, but ...

Hey now...

There is also a Katrina Relief auction on -ebay, with autographed shirts, skirts, raquets and shoes.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZtennischarityQQhtZ-1

You can get an autographed Hrbaty shirt! I am so tempted.

I would hope that the shirt is going to be auctioned, and proceeds go to the charity. I think a lot of people might pay a good chunk of change for a shirt once worn by the lovely mmmmmmmMaria.

I'm "watching" the blinking lights at work, and come on, Mary Pierce! Where's the Pierce that took out the hated Justine and Amelie the Queen of Choke?

Just in response to a few posts further up -- how can anyone resist Elena Dementieva? That wonky serve of hers is what endeared me to her. She starts every match at a real disadvantage and so many times just manages to claw and fight her way to a win. Girl's got some serious guts. Not to mention she's gorgeous and a total sweetheart. If she ends up in the final with Kim I'll be completely torn as to who to root for.

At this point I'd be thilled with a win by any of the semifinalists except Sharapova.

I think the biggest cause of the jingoism in American tennis announcing is the fear by tennis commentators that the sport is dying as a spectator/television sport here. Other, more generalized sportscasters (like Tony Kornheiser, who I like very much, and who said after Roddick got bounced that the sport is over) are already sounding the death bells, likening the waning popularity of tennis to the way soccer won't ever catch on as a major sport here.

They grab on to any success by American-born stars (especially on the men's side, which has fewer players at the superstar level than the women's game does) as a marketing tool to push tennis back to the US audience.

I'm pleasantly shocked that J-Mac is discussing the fact that Dementieva deserves more support than what's she getting.

Yep. I still get the feeling Dementieva's going to come back to win. Unfortunately for her, I got that same feeling during her other big losses.


Ooh, ooh! I'd like to dedicate this next song to Agassi: "Pineapple Head"! Hee.

Oh I don't like him at all. He's always talking about the death of tennis. Is apparently a favorite hobbie of his, whenever a Grand Slam tournament is played. Bleh.



You mean from the audience?

J-Mac, Dick and Mary sound as dour as if they were calling a funeral. I dig that Dementieva prefers reading to watching TV, but come on guys.

And go Mary [Pierce], go!

ETA - I can't help myself, I love Mary [Carillo]. "If you have that many injuries, then there should be a pit crew. [...] Someone to tape your leg, someone to rotate your tires..." Hee.

Edited again to distinguish one Mary from the other.

And yes, jimena: he [J-Mac] did mean "more support" from the audience.

But there's more tennis on TV than ever. The game is very popular, just not Entertainment Weekly phenomenal. I actually think that the spectator sport angle is being plied most by those whose careers stand best to gain from it as announcers and general boosters (JMac). Therefore his very breezy dismissal of any breach in the integrity of the game in the service of the game's entertainment value, because he wants the bright lights (for himself? the game?) and is willing to sell the sport's soul to get it.

I've been watching the Open at one of the NYC parks this week. The place has been packed every night I have been there, regardless of who is playing.

People are into this event at least, probably because there are no other tennis events that play here during the year and not many matches are shown on normal tv. If there was some otherb pro event besides the Open came to this area, the sport would get more support.

I agree. I actually wish I hadn't gone to the gym to watch some of this match because now I'm depressed. I like(d) Mary and was going to be happy if she won. . . but now? Of course the flipside is that Dementieva should have just run Mary all over the court to test those injuries and she didn't.

For himself. It's always about himself.

You make a really interesting point. And I'd say I agree with you.

Until today, I would have been right with you. Kim is still my sweetie, but Mary? Just pissed me off. I was so glad the announcers gave her a hard time for the gameswomanship, but the crowd pissed me off. (The crowd is almost as important for me when I watch a televised match as the announcers.) After all Pierce pulled with the carousel-of-timeouts, after the shrugging & line-staring every time Elena hit a ball even close to the line, after all the heart-thumping (it wasn't heart, Mary--it was mind games), they're still cheering her like she's the second fucking coming. I want to see her smashed in the finals, even if it's by Maria (who I don't hate, but she's not a favorite, either).

I also think this throws an interesting light on the whole time-out for cramping issue. Even "real injury" time-outs can be abused. Going back to the old "loss of condition" days isn't going to fix the problem as long as players get away with what Pierce just pulled.

I couldn't agree more. Poor kid.

Hate Kornheiser. I remember when Lleyton was #1 & he did his typical, "Would you know Lleyton Hewitt if he walked in the room?" Actually, Tony, yes I would--and I don't even get paid to know. Tool.

Don't forget how much time he and Wilbon spend on golf. That is a "sport" that bores me to tears. Like watching the grass grow, I swear. It doesn't get killer ratings, but they talk about it almost daily. That's the big reason I quit watching PTI.

I have never been more depressed about a match result. Elena was robbed. Pierce got a 15 minute time out and then took so long between points, thats some serious gamesmanship. Elena did so well in the first set keeping her serve under control, she deserved better. I love her more than ever now. Hope she wins the doubles at least.
I'm not fond of Sharapova at all but I hope whoever wins the second semi kicks Mary's ass good and proper.

So Pierce misbehaved. I like her and all, but I don't think I ever believed that all the stuff she does between points is subconscious.

What did the announcers say about this? I can't believe I couldn't watch this since I'm at work.

Yeah, but in a way that's part of the gamesmanship. The natural tendency if your opponent is injured is to test their movement. It's always helpful to make the player who is winning think about changing her game plan. Like chomskyite said, it amounts to mind games (in addition to slowing the momentum).

I have never agreed more with P-Mac than when just said this madness has to stop.

Well, Mauresmo and Dementieva couldn't break through yet again. Clijsters, for the love of God, take a break from choking and just win today!

They were very negative about it, jimena. They did note that it was within the rules, that she wasn't the first to do it & that Elena should have taken advantage by moving her around, but J-Mac especially kept the criticism up throughout the rest of the match. Carillo said "a part of [her]" feels bad about the fact that Dementieva got the short end of the rules & the crowd support. I agreed, but all of me felt that way. J-Mac also noted that, although Dementieva is usually known for mental toughness, she let it get into her head this time.

I forgot about this last time, but don't you realize that we're watching the WWE not tennis?

At least we didn't have Asshat Courier announcing the match. Even as mad as I was, his moralizing would have been too much. His comments the other night during the Coria match about the sport needing villains, too, just took the cake. In wrestling they're called "heels". Courier should look into commentating on that if he really needs that kind of shit to get into a match.

They, especially John, were really pissed. However, their anger was directed towards the rules, not Mary. As John said, Mary was completely in her right to keep calling for the timeouts because the rules say she can. One telling moment was Mary asking the tournament director how MANY times she could call for the trainer during the match.


Yes, but Dementieva just got exasperated that Pierce was moving so well and that was it.


From your lips. . .

Come on Clijsters!

ITA. And kudos to all the announcers for not shying away from both the discussion of the questionable time-out and the odd rallying of the crowd behind Pierce. I think they were seriously confused by the one-sided cheering.

It's now official: I hate Pierce the most. (Perhaps - we'll see how MS behaves in this second semi....) The preening, the way-too-aware of my audience behavior, the bullshit in general. My jaw dropped at her response to Mary Joe - pulling such a trump card to a VERY good and direct question.

Mary Joe is my new hero - that question was well phrased and well timed... and I'm still waiting to hear what Pierce really has to offer in defense of her actions.

Go, Kimmy! All the way -

OT: I'd like to dedicate "Chocolate Cake" to that crowd there today...[/OT]

OopsSorry, I didn't see the question Mary Jo asked. Can you explain what she asked and what Mary said?

I had muted the television in anger by that point, so I missed it, too.

I can't wait until Elena's press conference is over. They said that Mary Joe was there and would report what she said. Elena was classy at the end of the match, but I want to hear her thoughts. From what I know of her, she won't hold back.

I haven't rewound, but essentially she asked Mary how after taking a 12-min time out she could move so well in the 2nd and 3rd sets - enough to take it to the win....

And Mary said that after her first set she thought about her friend back home who is very sick (cue tears), and that she helped her take it to the win.

Bleck.

I want to see footage of that pressconference.

Yay, Kim!

But does she go over 20 seconds? Some players are slow between points, some are really fast. I don't mind the slow if it is within 20 seconds because that is allowed and not every one plays at the same pace. And she's still not Massu or anything...or is she?


I didn't see the time out thing but 15 - minutes? That sounds like it was as bad as the Djokovic/Monfils match where Djokovic took an incredibly long timeout and I think really threw off Gael- who was on course for a win. That was the match that “left a sour taste” in Tracy’s mouth.

There has to be a middle ground. I don’t want to go back to the days where we will see another incident like that poor Japanese player (can’t remember his name) writing on the ground in shuddering cramp agony for 10 minutes so he wouldn’t have to default. But at the same time, I would like to avoid another Djokovic/Monfils incident.

Like some of the announcers, I do blame the rules though and not the players.

I do agree with the posters who are fond of Elena. She has a cute personality and is becoming more and more of a fighter.

Mary Pierce actually said this? Man, I didnt think it was possible to dislike her any more than I do but she just keeps sinking lower and lower. I know she has a history of gamesmanship but this is low even for her.

On an upbeat note: Yay Kimmie!

They are talking on the radio about the recent trend of women holding the number one ranking without having won a grand slam in the past year (or in some cases ever.)

When is the last time that happened with the fellows- was it Marcelo “Surly” Rios?


Mary's response does sound rather cloying.

Elena didn't disappoint in her press conference. While she didn't blame it for her loss, she did say, "If that's the only way she thinks she can beat me..." and flat-out called Pierce a faker (though in not those words--she said it wasn't a real injury). You go, girl!

I still dig Mary Pierce's win. I think if they put in a rule about time outs, then she can call one if she feels she needs it. It's the rule, she is just using it. Why didn't Elena just run her ragged all over the court? Elena knew Mary wasn't feeling well and didn't take advantage of it. She should be blaming herself for not seeing an opportunity.

Go Kim! I would be very happy for either Kim or Mary winning the final. Actually, if mmmmmmmMaria comes back and wins and goes on to win the final, I don't think I would mind so much. I kind of feel bad for the girl, she has so many people who hate her so much, and it would be nice for her to get another major win to prove that she deserves all the accolades.

But Kim reigns supreme in my heart right now. She has no slams, and she is most in need of one.

Is Elena's press confrence online anywhere? Good for her though for getting a little dig in. Gotta love the girl.

This is why I cannot stand Mary Peirce. Okay, she had some legit stuff to traumatize her WAY BACK, but she takes such advantage of the martyr bit now.
She could have kept it current and thought about the hurricane vics.
Soon it's gonna be "well, my dog died some ten years ago, and the outfit a spectator in the 20th row is wearing reminded me of Fluffy, so I took an hour break to pray to Fluffy and it worked, I won."
And seriously, becoming a French citizen?!

I really, really like Elena Dementieva and am really sad that she lost. The fact that her serve is so bad but that the rest of her game is strong enough to make her number six in the world is pretty remarkable, IMO. Also, she's really pretty. I don't see why everybody fawns over Sharapova's looks - Maria's got nothing on Elena.

At least if it's a Clijsters/Pierce final I won't be torn over who to root for (as I would've been if it was Elena and Kim). Go Kim!!

Yeah, I'm a little disappointed about Pierce as well. I was kind of rooting for her in the beginning, but as the first set went on, I was so impressed with Elena, that I had to root for her. Then the time out and Pierce just came out on fire. Elena just didn't know what to do. But that's part of being a champion, isn't it? Adjusting your game to that of your opponent. If they raise their game, you need to as well. Elena pretty much let Pierce into her head and it was over.

Go Kim!

That first set was a clinic on how not to play tennis.


You're lucky you didn't see it. On some level, I kind of have to give to her for not just deflecting such obvious criticism, but actually trying to elicit sympathy. I don't know if she was faking or not, but she's quite the spin doctor.


I think she saw the opportunity, but was amazed when Pierce started moving so well.


I'm pretty sure it was. I think it bears repeating that so many non-slam holders have been #1 primarily due to injuries.

I like Mary, I really really do, but right on with this. IF her response had been: "my back was really tight and I was too nervous to really move with it but that stretching gave me all kind of confidence that it was okay" then I would say okay, she used the injury timeout correctly and that is why it was created but THIS! To basically say it was a ploy?!? That is bad.

Blackwing, I don't entirely disagree with you. I started the match rooting for her, and she didn't break any rules. Elena even made that point (about being within the rules) a couple of times during the very short clip of her press conference that CBS showed. My bigger problem is that she would pull that (not one time-out, but two in a row to maximize the time she had to regroup), then be thumping her heart like it was all about what she was doing on the court. It just wasn't. She was playing games, she knew she was playing games (or is very intellectually dishonest), and she still acted like she was gutting it out. I was angry when the same thing happened to Monfils. Gael got screwed, though entirely within the rules, and so did Elena.

As for if the transcript is available online, I don't know where you'd look. I just saw the snippet aired on CBS.

ETA: About Mary playing the martyr? So right on. I find myself feeling sorry for her, but she does play that up, doesn't she?


That's another thing besides the jingoism that angers me so much about how (women's) tennis is covered. Maria is gorgeous, but so-fucking-what?! I get that she's a big improvement over Kournikova, but still.

Kim is cute, but she's not a knock-out. She is, however, an athlete & you can tell. I dig that. That's one reason I still can't hate Lleyton Hewitt. While most male tennis players are with actresses & models, he was at one time in love with this very athletic, strong young woman. They grew apart, but I still like that.

I'm not sure what you mean, GoddessMelissa. Do you mean because she still lives in Florida most of the time or specifically becoming French? She has played Fed Cup for the French for years. Hell, I'd become a French citizen if I could, so on that issue I'm just jealous.