While the US Open is always exciting, there definitely was not the same buzz about it from New Yorkers as in the past. Attendance was terrific the first week of the fortnight tournament thanks largely to beautiful weather, but the fact remains that going into the Open, the conventional wisdom was that Switzerland’s Roger Federer was invincible and that the only two contenders who had a prayer of knocking him off were Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Spain’s Rafael Nadal. The best-known American players in the Open, James Blake, Robby Ginepri, Mardy Fish, and the overrated Andy Roddick, were considered to be also-rans from the start. The one real future hope for patriotic tennis fans was the play of rookie John Isner from the University of Georgia, who at 6’9” resembles an NBA prospect more than a budding tennis star.
Ginepri certainly understands the decline in tennis interest on the home front. “I am following in the footsteps of giants as Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras and I know that I am not in their category,” Ginepri conceded. “Tennis is much more global now than it was even just a few years ago and that makes it tougher. I realize that Americans don’t care about silver and bronze medalists. They want someone who brings home the gold.”
He also alluded to the rivalry tennis traditionally has with golf. “There is no question that golf is more popular because the two best players on the PGA Tour are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who are both Americans.”
Ginepri’s buddy, Mardy Fish, was depressingly introspective. “The truth is that I have never done anything to create any excitement among fans here since I’ve never gotten past the second round of the US Open. At this point, it is fair to say that I probably more of a journeyman at this point in my career than I am a contender. Nonetheless I am content in my life.”
Two days after making those statements, Fish proved once again that no one else can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory the way he can when he lost his usual heartbreaker to Spain’s Tommy Rodebro despite being up four games to one in the deciding fifth set.
Roddick was a bit testy with the media following his second round win, especially when asked if he still thought about the disastrous 2005 Open where he was both unceremoniously bounced in the first round and was the centerpiece of a very expensive and very dumb campaign by American Express which revolved around some nonsensical intangible called “Andy’s mojo. “ I really haven’t thought about it until now. I just had to suck it up and forget about it,” Roddick said somewhat unconvincingly. He also claimed that he never discussed the ill-fated ad campaign with AmEx officials. He also surprised the press corps with his belittling thoughts on college tennis. “If you are ready to turn pro then there is no point in playing college tennis since you are gong to be so much better than both your opponents and teammates,” he stated. He conceded that there were educational aspects of attending college but said that it does not help you if you want to be on the ATP Tour.
Justin Gimelstob has always been known for having a repartee that is faster than his backhand. As soon as he lost his first-round match to Roddick, Gimelstob picked up a microphone and interviewed his victorious opponent for the USA Network. The first query from Gimelstob was “What was the key to the match aside from the fact that you are so much better than me!”
The most shocking statement of the first week was that Roger Federer, who has a very erudite image, admitted that he did not know who Althea Gibson was on the day the late tennis great was being honored on the 50th anniversary of her becoming the first African-American woman to win the US Open at Forest Hills.
The “it” player on the women’s side this year was Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic who many see as the next Maria Sharapova in terms of talent and looks. Ivanovic admitted that she saw the US Open as not just a Grand Slam but as an opportunity to make a name for herself outside of the tennis world the Maria Sharapova has and the way Anna Kournikova did.
For those who miss watching the retired, comely Kournikova, there is a countryman on the WTA Tour who looks like Anna’s long lost sister. Vera Dushevina was beaten in the third round by Ivanovic. If her English improves, and if she has Anna’s flirtatious personality, then expect the paparazzi to follow her around Flushing Meadows in the future.
The New York Jets proved why they are always penny-wise and pound-foolish when they refused to meet the salary demands of left guard Pete Kendall who was shipped off to the Redskins for the usual fourth-round draft pick. Kendall was humiliated by both Jets head coach Eric “Baby Face” Mangini and general manager Mike Tannenbaum when he was told to practice with the second team during training camp and was initially assigned to a rookie dorm at Hofstra. In the NFL it is perfectly acceptable for teams to alter player contracts, but it is verboten for a player to demand that his contract be renegotiated the way Kendall did. Expect Jets QB Chad Pennington and his backup, Kellen Clemens, to become very familiar with the various grass, sod, and Astroturf surfaces of the various NFL stadiums this year.
During the Mets’ horrific four days in Philadelphia, everything that could go wrong did. In the ninth inning of the third game of the series, the Mets were losing 3-2 with Endy Chavez on third base and Marlon Anderson on first with Shawn Green at the plate. Green hit a slow roller to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who flipped the ball to second baseman Chase Utley, who was manhandled by Anderson. The umpire rightfully called a double play on the Mets because of Anderson’s base running interference. Anderson was vilified, but the truth is that he was playing hard-nosed baseball. What was overlooked was the fact that Randolph should have had Anderson try to steal second base from the get-go, which would have put the go-ahead run in scoring position and prevented the ground ball double play.
Say what you will about Rollins – he talks the talk but he walks the walk. He has backed up everything he has said that he would do, particularly against the team from Queens, even if that does tick off Mets fans.
The New York Liberty surprised everyone with a dramatic run in the final two weeks of the season to secure the final playoff spot in WNBA’s Eastern Division, and even demolished the tough Detroit Shock in the first game of the playoffs. Of course in typical Liberty tradition, they folded at Detroit, losing two straight games. My opinion on the team hasn’t changed. Head coach Pat Coyle and GM Carol Blazejowski have to be shown the door.
Long Beach has become a hot spot for beach spectator sports. The Beach Tennis Association held their second annual tournament at the Riverside Boulevard entrance to the sand and drew a very good crowd. In a recent issue, trendy New York Magazine profiled 15 year-old Long Beach resident Balaram Stack, who they say is the best surfer to come out of the New York area since Rick Rasmussen in the 1970s.
Michael Vick wisely decided to take a plea bargain because his attorneys and PR people feared what would be revealed at a trial that would undoubtedly have been televised on Court TV. This trial surely would have scored the cable network their best ratings since their broadcast of the trial of another football player, one O.J. Simpson, back in 1994.
If you are tired of the endless attention given to fantasy football and the inordinate number of books dedicated to its enthusiasts, then pick up a copy of the new ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia (Sterling Publishing), which goes into great detail about the history of the sport in America as well as stats for the over 20,000 players who have ever worn an NFL or even AFL uniform. There is nothing here about fantasy drafts, thank goodness.
Being There (Lyons Press) is a compendium of recollections of the greatest moments in sports history as told by the various sportswriters and broadcasters who covered those special moments. For example, Kenny Albert recalls when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, and Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas remembers Tug McGraw getting the final out of Game 7 in the 1980 World Series. It is highly recommended.
The My Television network (Channel 9 here in New York) is getting away from its disastrous women’s programming and turning to the guys, particularly on Saturday nights, as it will present the NFL Network’s “Total Access” as well as hour-long mixed martial arts shows from two rival leagues, the UFC and the IFL.
The beautiful and funny Jenna Wolfe has left her role as weekend sports anchor at WABC-TV and has joined Tiki Barber as a co-host and reporter for the last hour of “The Today Show.” ABC should have had her join the panel of “The View” when they had the chance.
