Early US Open Preview

[TFBlogGuest]

Andrew Miller writes:

An idea whose time has come: Public parks championship that involves USA pro players. It would raise the profile of the sport. Or exhibitions in public parks with pro players. There would be a huge buzz. It would be like the barnstorming of the past that made the tours possible. We must have dumb marketers for the sport.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Andrew - This interesting wheeze has been mentioned before and while it sounds a good idea my response is the same - which pro players would give up one millisecond of their busy lives to grace a public court ? On any kind of regular basis that is. Not to mention the remuneration - who pays ? Those barnstorming days of the past sound romantic now but it was just making a virtue out of necessity. Money over instead of under the counter.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Hartt writes:

Andrew, I wish the site did have a few trees, would provide some welcome shade! Catherine, I don't know that the crowd will necessarily support Sloane, she has been away for so long with her foot injury/surgery she may be under the radar now. And Kerber is a well-known player these days. Sloane seems to have fan appeal (which I never totally understood, outside of her good looks and nice smile), so it will be interesting to see who they root for. I don't know that Canadian crowds are especially pro-American. For example, Aga had way more support than CoCo - no contest in that dept.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Hartt writes:

Catherine, the Rogers Cup website, www.rogerscup.com, has an easy to follow OOP. Then you can just add 5 hours to get British times. There are several good daytime matches, starting with Osaka v Pliskova at 11:00 am Toronto time.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Hartt - thanks for the info. I should be able to fix the time I can follow matches now.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Hartt - BTW I asked about crowd support because I had a couple of Canadian friends, from Toronto, who had quite strong feelings about the US - mostly negative. Not sure why - possibly some kind of envy, resentment of bigger power etc. But I wouldn't be surprised if the crowd supports Sloane because she'll be seen as the underdog. That won't help Angie if she starts to lose her confidence. So I wouldn't see a Sloane victory as an astonishing upset.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Duke Carnoustie writes:

Can't wait for this Kyrgios-Zverev showdown. I think Nick will make it 3-0 against his buddy. Counting down till the match starts.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Hartt writes:

Catherine, Canadian attitudes towards the USA are complex. In many ways there is a lot of interaction between the 2 countries, and many Americans live in Canada and vice versa. I went to graduate school in the States and then worked there for a year. Graduate school was one of the best times of my life and I made some close friends. But I was surprised at how homesick I felt for Canada, not just my hometown and province, but for the country as a whole. Outside of Quebec, which is still largely French, we speak the same language. Canadians watch American TV and movies, consume American news, read American books and magazines. So we know a lot about the US and admire a lot of American culture. But, at the same time, Canadians want our own culture to be acknowledged and I would say that Canadians have become more nationalistic than we used to be. I am annoyed with some of the anti-American sentiment that still exists. I think some of that does spring from jealousy towards a large, powerful neighbour that has such a big influence on us.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Hartt- thanks, that's filled in a few gaps for me.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Hartt writes:

I am interested in the development of young tennis players. The sportsnet.ca site has an interesting piece, "Growing Pains," on Denis Shapovalov, written when he was at the Granby Challenger recently. One of the things discussed is the dual existence for a player at Denis' ranking. One week he is playing Wimbledon, thanks to a WC, where he rubs shoulders with top players and enjoys the luxury of a Slam. "You go from playing Wimbledon, one of the classiest tournaments in the world, to playing - like Gatineau is a good tournament, it's run very well, but at the end of the day, it's Gatineau." On a rainy Monday in Granby Denis is playing video games and wanting to contact his family. But the motel Wi-Fi is not working properly and he can't Skype his parents. It can be especially lonely for an 18-year-old on the road. At least in Montreal his parents are there and presumably he has a nice hotel, and is spared fast food. And of course he enjoys the adulation of big crowds as he wins his first 2 matches. But next week it is back to the grind of the Challenger tour, although the next stop is a big city, Vancouver. And then he must battle it out in the qualies of the USO. Denis acknowledges that there is motivation in wanting to get to the next level of tennis, "so that, you know, eventually I can be at the nice lounges, and the nice hotels, and live a nice life," he says, laughing. But there are more Granbys in his immediate future before he gets to tennis' promised land.

 

[Busted]

Duke Carnoustie writes:

Can't wait for this Kyrgios-Zverev showdown. I think Nick will make it 3-0 against his buddy. Counting down till the match starts.

Leaving aside the fact that Zverev may be injured - ITA. I think Kyrgios will win. The only matches he seems to be interested in are the ones he can use as "grudge" fuel for motivation. It was that way in the spring with Djokovic - and then in Miami when he lost to Federer and said afterwards that he should have won. And it's been that way the 2 times he's played Zverev this year. He's miffed to see the younger man doing better than he is - regardless of the fact that Zverev puts in the work and has the the motivation and drive and WANTS to play and succeed.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Hartt writes:

Sascha won in SS. Nick did appear to be bothered by his hip, but generally Sascha played well.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Andrew Miller writes:

Svitolina, most improved wta player. What was her French semifinal like?

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Andrew Miller writes:

Sombrero Sam fails to switch gears as Canadian Cue-Ball, and falls to Anderson in three. Meanwhile, Federer beats Ferrer in a tough three setter, showing either Federer is a little rusty or that Harrison bumped into a Ferrer who's getting a second or third wind on tour.

 

[Front242]

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[Fiero425]

Too bad seeding done at USO already! Kyrgios has a chance to move up to #12 in the world if he wins today in Cinci! What was the rush; trying to stay out of past controversy when the draw had to be pulled a 2nd time? Only the USO goes thru these controversies; even worse than period with Spanish players objected to being seeded lower at Wimbledon 20+ years ago! At least Flushing bumped Nick up to #15 already!

 

[TennisFan101]

Hartt writes:

Catherine, Canadian attitudes towards the USA are complex. In many ways there is a lot of interaction between the 2 countries, and many Americans live in Canada and vice versa. I went to graduate school in the States and then worked there for a year. Graduate school was one of the best times of my life and I made some close friends. But I was surprised at how homesick I felt for Canada, not just my hometown and province, but for the country as a whole. Outside of Quebec, which is still largely French, we speak the same language. Canadians watch American TV and movies, consume American news, read American books and magazines. So we know a lot about the US and admire a lot of American culture. But, at the same time, Canadians want our own culture to be acknowledged and I would say that Canadians have become more nationalistic than we used to be. I am annoyed with some of the anti-American sentiment that still exists. I think some of that does spring from jealousy towards a large, powerful neighbour that has such a big influence on us.

As an American, I find your statement about Canadian sentiment toward the US surprising. I have heard nothing but great things about Canada from people who have visited or moved there; natural beauty and historic locations just to name two reasons to visit.

When you speak of US magazines, TV shows, and books I have to ask doesn't Canada have a Canadian counterpart of these things.

Could any hostility be because of the War of 1812 when Canada was still a British colony?

And are you saying that the US has a political influence on Canada? Or is it just social?

I have always thought of Canada as our great northern neighbor. Still do.

Being homesick sux.

 

[TennisFan101]

Too bad seeding done at USO already! Kyrgios has a chance to move up to #12 in the world if he wins today in Cinci! What was the rush; trying to stay out of past controversy when the draw had to be pulled a 2nd time? Only the USO goes thru these controversies; even worse than period with Spanish players objected to being seeded lower at Wimbledon 20+ years ago! At least Flushing bumped Nick up to #15 already!

I think seeding should be uniform across the board. Wimby makes up its own rules. What say you?

 

[Fiero425]

I think seeding should be uniform across the board. Wimby makes up its own rules. What say you?

The USO has already made up their own rules! IMO, even though I'm from the STATES, it's w/o a doubt scraping the bottom of the barrel in stature compared to other venues and organizations! It's a wonder they're doing so well; absolutely criminal some of the things that have gone on with the draw, change of venue, surface, and flip/flop on BO3 or BO5 in early rounds for the men! It's been a joke for as long as I can remember!

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

I love many things about Canada. I love that the nicest people I have ever met are from Toronto. I love that the great game of hockey originated in canada. I love the beautiful city of Montreal. I love that the greatest heavyweight champion of all time learned to box in Kitchener, Ontario - Lennox Lewis. I love the national anthem of Canada Oh Canada. I love Canada.