And another when the shot was called good and everyone thought it was out. I'm not too happy to see the bad line judging from the summer tournaments carrying over to this one.

McEnroe is definitely doing commentary during the day, although he hasn't been starting till the second match or so.

OK, big time rant time:

Today during Myskina's match somehow Roddick's name managed to get mentioned! HATE. Tracy & Co. were talking about how there's a lot of good Russian woman players and how that makes them want to excel. Then she says, "Much like Andy Roddick & Mardy Fish. They lived together for a while." For the love of God, shut it with that shit already!

Wait a minute! So that's Al Trautwig in the studio? I thought that he would look like Pat Summerall with that voice of his. If it is, HATE!

One night of tennis, and I although USA is a vast improvement over ESPN, I do have some complaints. They come on Monday night at 6 p.m. and although no tennis was going to air until 6:30, do a fluff piece on Maria Sharapova, and talk to Jim Courier. What is this, NBC?

And what is up with them, after each set of a match is over, going to the studio for highlights/analysis while the match is in progress?

And I am SO sick and tired of hearing people rag on and on about Serena/Venus offcourt activities. It is their life, let them live it.

Bootgate? Didn't see it live but caught a few minutes of it afterwards. Although the boots were hideous, if they don't effect Serena's performance nor her opponents, what the fuck does it matter? Between this and Tommy Haas' sleeveless shirt fiasco, tennis needs to realize that its 2004.

First off, sorry abt the name. I needed to think of something and I like the term "hood rat"

But I think one reason they do the whole puff piece stuff for a long time on USA is because the US Open matches never seem to start on time. I was at the Sharapova match last night( it was so tense in the stadium, I totally thought she was going to lose) and my tickets were for 7 pm, I got there a few minutes late, and it took a while-at least 45 minutes-for the match to start. I think they are just building the lateness into the broadcast by padding it with fluff.

One funny thing is, the Jumbotrons in the stadium are so distracting, and you are up so high in the air, you end up watching them for a while until you realize you are actually in the stadium and can watch the match for real.

Should we switch some of the talk to the US Open on USA thread since there is a switch in network coverage for this grand slam?

Andre Agassi actually had the Jumbotrons turned off during his last match with Pete a few years ago. He found it too distracting at night.

Kiss My Grits: I'm not sure we realized there was a US Open thread. The regulars had a conversation a while back about changing the title of this thread to be all encompassing of tennis coverage but nobody seemed to care (as long as the mods don't).

I think it might be time to ask. . . (I'll go over there now).

Yeah! Thanks Glark.

By the way: am I jealous that Sharapova is playing mixed doubles with Max? *pokes self* Why yes, yes I am.

Wayne Ferreira's last Slam. **sigh** This is going to be the farewell tour Open.


New name for the thread.

Did anyone catch the US Open preview on Sunday? You'll never guess who PeeMac picked to get into the finals. Yes, that's right Andy and Andre. Not only that, he picked Mardy Fish to get to the Semis. At least he picked one non-American(Lleyton Hewitt) to get to the semis. Would it kill him to at least try to be impartial. Not that I would necessarily mind an Andy and Andre final, but he could give some credit to #1 Federer or one of the other higher seeds. And Fish, I know he won the silver medal, but when has he ever done anything at one of the majors.

Total word to all the Trautwig haters! I was watching and heard that voice and was like "no that can't be who I think it is", but lo and behold it was. He just got through ruining the olympics for me and now the US Open. Wasn't he in Athens just a minute ago. He must have taken the red eye just to wreck another major sporting event. He must be on some kind of mission.

BTW, I'm gonna miss seeing the old thread name. The Andy and Andre show was the perfect name for this thread.

Rich and John McEnroe spend more time on Serena's fashion than on her matches, how annoying. Why can't these grand slams be like Wimbleton and have some kind of dresscode.

I have not heard Al Trautwig cover tennis before but I can't imagine he is any better covering tennis than he is covering gymnastics.

He's not. HATE.

Nevermind.

I think Michael Barkhan looks (and sounds) a bit like Bill O'Reilly. I have to keep myself from switching the station when he first comes on because of the voice (I'm very anti-O'Reilly).

There are often day matches still going on at 7:00, and if one is still in Armstrong, that would be the reason for the delay sometimes. That wasn't the case yesterday, since they put an extra match on Armstrong since the three during the day session were concluded in record time. USA is good in that if there is an exciting match still going on at 5pm, they usually will stay with it rather than switching to Walker, Texas Ranger reruns, pleasing everyone but Conan O'Brien I guess. I can remember a couple of times when they ran credits for the daytime broadcast at about 6:57 and came back at 7:00 for the evening show.

I really don't like Tracy Austin as a commentator, and the faux flirting between her and Ted Robinson is the very definition of chill-inducing.

Serena wears unusual clothing for a tennis player, we get it. Let's please move on.

Wow, I can't believe I found you guys! If I had thought about it, I guess I would have realized there'd be a TWOP tennis thread! I am so happy! There are Federer fans and everything!



I have to completely agree with you, iMissEthan. Maybe it's just that that makes him really icky to me. I don't know. I found him pretty inappropriate last night in both interviews with Roger. Just kind of wacky and un-engaging. I think it's pretty hard to piss Roger off in an interview (he was recently awarded nicest to the press, right?, and I even remember he actually HUGGED Bud Collins once....), but he got there. Jesus. The whole world doesn't reek of American sarcasm, Mike. And the interview is supposed to be about the player, not YOU.[/rant]

On a perhaps OT tangent, does anyone watch the press conferences/interviews with the players on usopen.org?

I have in the past, but haven't done so this year (yet). TWoP takes up too much of my time (oh yeah, and work too).

I am so sick of Pat McEnroe an his inability to be impartial. He is so loathe to give any compliments to any non US male players. I'm amazed he ever even mentions Federer, world number 1. PMac- I know that you are Davis Cup captian but tennis is an international game- deal with it.

Even tonight...at the end of the late night show Bill asked Pat what he thought about the men's tennis on Thursday and all PMac could say was that it was disappointed for Dent and Fish- two people who went far in the Olympics. Hey jackass- Bill wasn't just asking about the US players. Nice way to completely ignore the Sargisian-Massu match that was one of the most dramatic in recent history (3 broken rackets)- and involved the gold medal winner. Oh, yeah, but Massu is from Chile so of course you can't offer a crumb of attention to that. Tim Henman's valiant effort to win another 5-setter? Not a mention because - oh yes- he is not from the US. Please realize Pat that some of us are actually intersted in players on the men's side who aren't from the US. Drives me crazy.

Amen and amen to that.

OoopsSorry and Chesty LaRue: Welcome to the thread! I think you will find you are among like-minded folks here.

Wasn't it awful when he asked Federer how he felt playing his first night match and then made Federer feel bad when (Barkhan) was the idiot who didn't know Roger had played a night match last year?


Sing it sister. I think it is time for the networks to realize that the conflict of interest is too much to overcome. As Davis Cup captain PMac can go on and on all he wants about his precious crew--as a commentator, it is just wrong.

Oh wowee, what on earth is USA Network going to do with Fish and Dent eliminated on the same day? Any guesses? More womens matches, perhaps?

It wouldn't surprise me if USA just replayed Roddick or Agassi's matches from whatever round they just finished.

Thanks, Juanita. I already feel that I am! It's amazing to have such a support group! Ha.

I was pretty upset, LT, at that comment. Sheesh. The press room people have put him pretty badly on the defensive, as if it's somehow his fault - or even that it's somehow an issue - that he is not quite the star that others (whom I won't name here and now) are. It's tennis, folks. He's lovely, brilliant, and by all accounts a decent guy. It's disgusting really that they first of all want something more, and then blame him for not somehow delivering! I say thank god - as if we don't have enough showboating elsewhere. So the media come at him for their own lack of sophistication in understanding us tennis fans, and then you have MB unable even to get his facts straight in the interview. I want to scream at the TV, "Look at yourselves, media! Therein lies the problem."

Anyway, MB interviewed Federer today after his practice session; made him rank the Grand Slam tournaments in order of preference. WTF? He said Wimbledon, then Australian (he's won both, duh). It's like they're setting him up. He's not American. It's not his fault. It's not even A fault if you ask most of us. Leave the poor guy alone. So they did only then to have Trautwig upon the return to the studio snip, "well, WE love the US Open!"

Guys? Don't like the answer? ASK A BETTER QUESTION! Or be interested in the the motivation behind the answer.

I'll stop defending him now, I guess. Sorry. Alas, how do they get away with it, I ask you....

Anyway, so glad you guys are here. Can you tell?

Today's Al Trautwig fuckup for the day:

"More tennis coming up here at the two hundred and four, uh, two thousand and four U.S. Open."

BWAH!!!

And what is up w/the post match interviews asking the players to comment on a highlight? Al asked Venus yesterday to do so and it was just ridiculous. Could they, i don't know, tell the freakin player what exact shot/point in the match that they r seeing? It's just ridiculous.

And while I enjoy USA's emphasis on bringing viewers as much tennis as possible, it gets kinda aggravating to switch from match to match to match. Likewise, it's hard to get into in a quality match when they show two games of it, then change to another match.

See, I'm the kind of viewer that wants to go where the action is. I have no desire to watch blowout matches (See Mauresmo 6-2,6-0) w/ no suspense. This is actually one of my many beefs w/ the ESPN coverage. If Andy is dominating an opponent we still have to watch b/c he's American and well...y'all know where I'm going. I think USA is doing a good job of mixing exciting matches w/ players from other countries, which is all I ever wanted.

Random observations/thoughts:

Michael Barkann vs. Al Troutwig-Sadly, I think I'd take Al and I'm a gymnastics fan!

I'm loving the ball boy with the super-sized afro through the visor.

What was up w/ the Price is Right theme music during the Hewitt/Arazi match?

Does Patty Schnyder not own a single hairbrush?! Geez

I was more than a little skeeved out watching footage of Tatiana Golovin dance around in her little black dress! She's 16 for crying out loud!

I'm always afraid that Tati Golovin's shorts are gonna fall off right then and there on the court.

Patty's hair has always been like that, she seems to have somewhat of an aloof personality on and off the court

I think that USA does a pretty good job of covering the US Open. I like that they jump around to the most competitive matches. I don't think we've seen a single match on tape yet, unlike what ESPN gives us. I like John McEnroe as a commentator, he fairly impartial and keeps the match entertaining when the match begins to sag. However, the thing I like most about him, is the fact that he is not his brother.

I was shocked to see that Golovin didn't have a major crack problem with the shorts she was wearing yesterday. She made Serena look conservative in comparison.

Andy Roddick was a world class prick in his match last night. I am sorry but I don't think the refs and the linesmen should be treated with that kind of disrespect. The guy was probably about ten years older than Roddick, yet Roddick talked to him like he was about five. Totally disgusting in my opinion.

I really liked the kid David Nadal. I don't think Andy is going to dominate quite the way the American media thinks he is. I wish him the best, even though I don't like him, but it isn't going to take long for other players to start dealing with his "power serve", and as far as I can tell he still has no plan B. His plan is hit the ball hard, if that doesn't work it it harder.

I am glad to see that Jon W. from CNNSI.com continues to give Federer his props.

I still think that if Federer gets into the final he will win. I cannot see him getting beat by Roddick, assuming they both make it to the final.

And this is totally shallow but Golovin is not cute. And those shorts need to go. They are way to short and she has no ass to speak of. Flat as a board.

I actually really liked Roddick's intensity during the Rafael Nadal match last night. He really came out there with the intent to beat him down (the anger/intensity/nerves showed his respect for Rafa's talent, IMO). It was also a bit shocking for me to see what I thought would be a really tight five-setter turn into a pretty dominant three-setter. So, good on Andy.

I don't think, however that it will be a Roddick/Federer final. Andre played ridiculously well today (and Roger has played some not-quite-Roger-like tennis in the last few weeks - Andre may just take him down in the quarters). Hewitt, I feel, is the man to beat at this point. I think Andy will go down to Hewitt in the semis - he is absolutely on fire.

And on another note, did I actually hear PeeMac say, "Roger Federer is undisputedly the best tennis player in the world by far right now" during today's broadcast? About time he started seeing clearly.

OT: I got to randomly meet a few of the players briefly after last night's session and it's good to see James Blake recovering nicely - bummer he can't compete this year, but cool that he came out to support Andy. And like him or hate him (and even though he can look like an annoying frat boy on tv), man is Roddick handsome in person... I always forget that most pros are like 6'2" or taller. damn.

One final time, Trautwig, et al: It is JustinE not Justin. Thank you for your time.

You know I have to say that everyone has a problem with people gushing over Roddick. Fair enough. I get it. But the way they talk about Federer....this morning McEnroe called him the greatest tennis player who has ever lived. AND NO ONE CALLED HIM ON IT!!! COME ON!!! Yes the guy is an amazing talent but THE GREATEST WHO HAS EVER LIVED? It was a freakin' love fest. "He has every shot in the book". "Please!!! He's so good they had to make the book bigger". "Seeing him play is like watching greatness unfold before you". "He's perfect". and all this was during one match.

The guy has won three slams and shows no signs of slowing down. Fair enough. But I am so tired of commentators annointing people as the greatest ever before they have a chance to really prove it. After his career is over it may just be that he was the best ever. But for now, guys like Lendl, Borg, Laver, Sampras....they all deserve to be in that company as their careers have shown dominance and longevity. Hingis was unstoppable for a while too, as were the Williams Sisters. But then the gap closed. So let's hold off on anointing anyone as the best ever shall we?

Geesh...

Oh and by the way, USA, if you bill something as "Ladies night", how about showing the ladies match? I was sooooo annoyed. They didn't show ANY of the second set of Davenport's match and barely even kept us updated!

Oh and Nadal? Your fist pumps and come ons and stares after virtually every game? Annoying. See leyton hewitt for an example of someone that would be so much more well liked if he toned his attitude down a bit., It's poor sportsmanship. As a player I'll tell you when I see a player grandstanding like that it really makes the blood boil.

Johnny Mac is possibly a better commentator than player. Possibly, IMHO. Courier's pretty good too...

So, I'm totally bummed (again) to see Moya choke, although it's nice to see a short guy win in professional tennis nowadays. Again, IMHO, but Moya seems to play the most interesting game, because his games almost always goes 5 sets. I don't know if he loses confidence that easily, or he just likes to wear his opponents down.

Word to this. I mean, I agree with their decision to go to the Sargiasian (sp?) vs. Mathieu (sp?) match for the 5-all game. But when it kept going on and on and I just figured that they would go back to Lindsay. Luckily, I was able to follow Lindsay's match via the us open website but you would think that if given the choice between a ranked American woman vs. a ranked Russian or two unknown players, the latter would prevail in coverage. I was just thinking to myself: "ESPN, would never do this."

Does anyone else just get pissed everytime they see Al Trautwig on the screen? HATE!!!

Oh, another pet peeve of USA: they decide to interview Lindsay while the Venus/Chanda match is going on. WTF?

Then all I can say is thank goodness USA was broadcasting yesterday. The Mathieu Sargisian match as a classic awesome battle (some have said the best of the tournament so far). I am glad that they showed the outcome of a fantastic tennis match and did not automatically shaft it just because it didn't involve an American worman. Thank goodness they showed the final tiebreak! This is what tennis coverage used to be like and I am so happy with USA. ESPN always just shows Americans or pretty ladies and kudos for USA to realize that some people want to see high quality, high drama matches regardless of the player nationality. One reason why I can't stand ESPN is that the are awful about shafing international players- the men in particular.

And Sargis is not an "unknown" by many in the tennis world. He has been around for many years and is a quality player. Mathieu is a young player on the rise.

Once again- thank to USA for realizing that tennis is an international sport and letting me see one fantastic match.

Bovina is Russian, and the first set was 8-6 in a tie break, Chesty. This was not just some American woman rolling over an unknown opponent. Because of Serena's protected seeding, Lindsay was ranked 5 instead of 3rd or fourth and as such has the toughest draw of anyone. Bovina had just won the Pilot Pen and had beaten Lindsay the last time they played. And also, Lindsay has never been portrayed as cheesecake, nor has she ever gotten the attention of the other women players. So I was psyched to see her in a featured night match and billed as such a draw. Only to not see the entire second set!!!

I wouldn't have had such a problem with it if they didn't repeatedly hit us over the head with the theme which was ladies night. This wasn't an american issue or a women's issue. It was a marketing one. If you bill something as ladies night show the ladies matches.

I do agree that Lindsay does get shafted a lot. (alexias, I know that Bovina is Russian- I said Americans or pretty ladies.) I feel bad for her and she is one of my favorites. I was intrigued by the 9-7 tiebreak in the first set as well and they did show that on USA. That was awesome and had me cheering.

But the second set was not nearly as exciting in the Bovina-Davenport match (6 games to 2), whereas the 5th set of the Sargisian (in which he came from behind) match ended in a tiebreak. Maybe a good compromise would have been to do some lookins in the Davenport match and hold off on commercials.




But I dont think that they should have just shown only ladies matches at the expense of an exciting men's match. They never just show matches of only one gender and I hope they don't start. And I'm sure that ladies night didn't mean that they would not show any men's matches.

Yes- it was ladies night, I don't think that it would have been right to have not covered the exciting closely fought 5th set of the Sargisian match when the.
outcome of the second set of the Davenport match was not in doubt. They don't know the outcome of the matches when they set up the programing and if there is an exciting nail-biting match going on, then I am happy that they showed it, regardless of gender. The match is already being called a classic. If it was "men's night" and there were showing an Agassi 6-2 set at the expense of an closely fought 3rd set in a women's match I would be sad that they did not show the ladies match.

Again- it is a shame that Lindsay always appears to be the female player who gets shafted. But one of the biggest complaints that ESPN has has about its progamming is that it stays with matches even when it becomes clear what the outcome will be and do not switch to exciting matches. I am glad that USA did.
It is too bad that they could not show both Lindsay and the men's match but I am really glad that they did show the men's match because it was riveting and exciting. And it is just so rare for the US networks to show international players of both genders and USA is doing a good job of it. I just hope that people don't start complaining to USA to quit showing matches like the Sargisian match.

I'm not tying to argue. I am just so happy that they did show the end of the Sargisian match and am sad that people are annoyed that they did, and but I understand that people are sad that they didn't see the end of the Davenport match. But that 5th set was wonderful and I am so glad that I was able to see it. It's a shame that two of the traditionally neglected by US tennis coverage (Davenport and non-Agassi/Roddick) were playing at the same time.

I think for the most part we're in agreement here, Chesty. The only thing is that the second set of the Davenport match, especially in the beginning, was exciting. After the tie-break, they were on serve 2-2 and Lindsay was double break point down. She managed to get through it after a VERY long point where she won the point with a backhand drop shot and saved the game and from there ran away with it. But none of that was shown, nor did they really keep us informed. No pocket screen, or split screen or even verbal updates. My whole thing was, the first set was excruciating and the second to that point really close. What if Davenport was broken and in trouble and we weren't seeing it? You know? So if they had shown the second set up until Lindsay had control and then switched over, even for good, I wouldn't have been as upset. If they switched over and kept going back, or did the pocket screen thing or even gave frequent score, verbal updates I wouldn't have been as upset. But I just kept thinking, If Lindsay loses and I don't get to see the match I'm going to be very very upset, as this may be here final U.S. Open. Thankfully that didn't happen but she almost was broken and the match could have turned. And they weren't letting us know and that was frustrating.

I understand your frustration alexias. It is easy to do verbal updates- I was a little surprised about the lack of that for Lindsay. It really would be cool if they did incorporate pocket or split screens. That would be awesome to use for a tournament and it would eliminate the either/or coverage conundrum and allow people to see when a number of exciting things are going on.

I gotta say, I'm with Chesty on this one. I couldn't believe they let us see the match of the day for so very long when neither player was American and the names would not be known to folks who only watch tennis once a year. What a thrill! Of couse they had to call it "Ladies Night." The featured matches on the main court were both women's matches for the first time in the tournament. Who knew that the other match would go on so long? I'm sure they figured, hey, we'll show the final couple of games and then switch back. Huge kudos to them for sticking with it. My only complaint? So little coverage of the Henman match, quite a bit of which could have been worked into the 7-7:30 period. But you can't have everything.

Interesting scheduling tonight on the part of the Open folks, with no Americans on the court tonight. They could easily have put either the Capriati or Roddick matches on in the evening. I wonder if CBS had anything to do with that.

Get ready for Serena vs. Jennifer, part 1001

As for Mauresmo and Hewitt during the evening session, I think both are pretty big marquee names (#2 seed and a former champion) that both can headline no problem.

An interesting admission John Mcenroe made during the Tommy Haas match: "The organizers quickening up the (Arthur Ashe) court to favour the American players" .
Well, at least someone said it.

I felt bad for Willy Canas - he just ran into a steamroller named Roddick today. Andy looks pretty damn focused, and I wouldn't put it against him that he could beat Federer in the final should the two meet. I do think Federer has Andre Agassi's number though.

I'm not saying they couldn't headline on my own personal network but there's no way it will get the kind of ratings either Capriati or Roddick would have gotten, either of whom were possible choices. Either way, I'm certainly not complaining, just observing.

Jim Courier is now ranting about why women players can't hold in their emotions on the court (Zvonareva cried several times during her match today). I like to see players get emotional, personally. I love Federer, like everyone else, but his stoicness (is that a word?) can be boring. Give me a good South American racket-thrower any day.

Well, just came back from an end of the summer BBQ and beer bash (where I played a set of very bad tennis) and looking forward to tonight's coverage. I'm glad that they are showingHewitt tonight because his form has been awesome lately. Yea to the organizers for having him in a night match. He is back to his fighting form and really puts it all out there. And for people who like the pretty boys- Lopez will be a treat.

I like his "c'mons!" because he is very passionate on the court and that makes him interesting. I also think that the media is warming up to him. One reason is that he has matured quite a bit and is frankly very likable in interviews now. He was downright charming in an interview with Al a few days ago. I think he is a good guy (who has made mistakes in the past but has grown up).

One think that I like about him is that unlike a lot of tennis players (outside of Agassi) he is with a fellow althlete who is not the model du jour. I think Kim has been very good for him.

I think what we need is really a set of channels, a la Olympic coverage, that cover all the matches, because my heart was pounding last night over the nail-biting Henman match. I would have loved to see even minutes of that. Granted I was at the family cook-out and could only slip away at certain moments to catch up. I knew Henman was going into the 5th, but then had a hard time finding out what happened.

He's ranked #5, I think, and I've had few opportunities to see any of his matches on TV. But here's where the tennis junkie in me keeps me from complaining too much. There's little I would sacrifice often.

Good to read your defense of Lleyton, Chesty, because I am working on my negative feelings for him. I have to admit that Hewitt actually turned me off from tennis altogether during his dominant years, and I had been a fan for 20 years by then. I was just disgusted. So I guess I would probably guess that he'd matured, but I'm almost afraid to watch him. I'm going to face that fear tonight! Heh.



First of all, I still find it odd that Kim has stayed with Lleyton, but do hope it's all for the better for him. I have to say I miss her a lot.

And I just have to say, though you'll all think I'm a broken record (sorry!), Roger's long-time woman is a former WTA player, though never as successful (obviously) as Andre's or Lleyton's. She played seriously for years, and they played doubles for Davis Cup. I know she's let it go lately, and I hope she's all right with that. Because I love Mirka, and would pay to see what she could do with whoever that was last seen with Andy. Whatever sport. But preferably boxing!

Well I for one want to see every last second of Lindsay's matches if this will in fact be her last slam. Sorry. She's my favorite player and I hardly ever get to see her play or featured. The one time she is on her own (not Lindsay vs. a Williams sister or Justine), I missed half her match. You might feel the same if your favorite player was leaving the game.

I hope Lindsay does put up a great fight vs. Venus tomorrow, if it is going to be Lindsay's last U.S. Open. I've been disappointed in the past a Lindsay's half-baked efforts in the third set, but it looks like she's done much better in those closer matches during the hardcourt season.

alexias, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. When I watch baseball I want to root for the home team but when I watch tennis I just want to see a great match, period. I love Lindsay too but I've seen her all year on ESPN and the Tennis Channel so even though it's a slam it's not all that special for me to see every moment of her matches. Not to mention, I'd much rather see her play one of the Williamses or Justine; what's wrong with a match that really challenges her?

Anyhoo, I know it may be her last but at least she's gotten full coverage for years. I never get to see my favorite player on TV despite his top 10 status unless he plays Roddick since he's neither American nor a good-looking woman. So frankly, I'd be thrilled to see even two games of his on USA or any other channel.

Re: Hewitt, I believe it was Ted Robinson who spoke for me tonight when he said anyone who's going to marry the nicest woman on the tour must have grown and changed. But I still find it hard to pull for him, I have to say.

Tomorrow should be a great day with some fantastic matches. The day starts with Henman v. Kiefer, then Agassi v. Sargisian (at lease Sarge should have a shorter match this time), then Venus v. Davenport. Night matches will be Henin-Hardenne v. Petrova and Federer v. Pavel.

Nevermind.

Well, actually it's not so surprising when you're working on the assumption (as I am) that CBS gets to choose the matches they want in the daytime and leaves the others for USA. I think they snatch up all the Americans no matter the rankings. My brother and I have attended the Open for years and we've noticed that when CBS does their coverage the night matches are often less star-studded than other nights of the tournament. Saturday was the one exception this year but Sunday and Monday pretty much fit this theory. Plus, in other tournaments split between ESPN and CBS, John McEnroe has actually stated that CBS picks which matches they want to show and they are scheduled accordingly.



Edited for clarity.

Nevermind.

During yesterday's CBS coverage, McEnroe and Enberg were cracking up -- to the point Mary had to do the talking -- over something. Alas, I was out of the room and missed what caused them to go over the deep end. Does anyone know?

I've never heard Johnny Mac laugh so hard.

I believe it had to do with the player's last name (Mello) and his very yellow T-shirt but I'm not certain.