2011 U. S. Open Tennis Championships

[tennis_chiro]

1975 Part 1

I guess that I am not much of a prognosticator...which is probably why I am not much of a gambler. Certainly not after the night I lost ALL of my money at some casino overlooking the Ponderosa in Lake Tahoe...it was 1975 on my return trip from hitchhiking to California...we had ended up in Big Sur. We had our tennis racquets in our backpacks and we practiced volleying on the freeway ramps along Interstate 80 when we waiting for our next ride west...from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean. I was volleying my way across America. It was all of seventeen dollars as I recollect, that is, it was all of my money. Was it worth it for a couple of free Rum and Cokes from the casino? I would have to say, yes it was...looking back on the experience, that is. At the time it looked like it was going to be a long trip home. As it turned out, that after a rather dismal run at the Black Jack table...if my hazy memory serves me correctly, my buddy and I got "lucky". Some guy gave us a ride in the back of his truck with a load of potatoes, nonstop from someplace in Nowhere, Kansas all the way to Dayton, Ohio which left us with a mere hop, skip and jump home to the suburbs of Detroit. I remember walking that last mile from my buddy's house to my house...bone weary. I must of looked really strange...trudging along carrying my backpack with my tennis racquet poking it's nose out of it. I might not of been rich but I was young. Lucky is a relative term. Isn't it?

I am willing to bet that lucky tennis_chiro was camped out someplace in the Hamptons giving tennis lessons to the stars or running his song and dance by some nice looking Long Island babes at the very same moment I was riding all night on a sack of potatoes. What a cushy gig...it certainly sounds like it. Don't get me wrong...I wouldn't of traded places with him for a million bucks, even then, but it certainly is nice knowing him now. What a ride it's been, eh Don? I wonder what bottle was doing back then. God only knows. Something rather wild, I suspect. Talk about a song and dance. He's got a way with words...and a story or two to tell. He's been around...I'll bet. I wonder what all of you were doing. But lest I forget...most of you probably were not even an idea in your father's eye yet. I date myself. Good luck to all of you just the same! It's only moments that we borrow...as we gaze towards the future. Realistically speaking...we are all in the same Big Boat. Looking into the unknown. The River.

I wanted to respond to this sooner, but it's been tough working and watching all the tennis I could the last few days. The rain gave me a little break, so:

1975

That was a very interesting year. But you need the context of the previous years to get me there. In early 1973, I sold my interest in the Tennis Academy, Inc in Grand Central Station that I had founded in 1971 and used the money to support me playing the satellite circuits in Florida and the South. I didn't do very well and then my girlfriend told me to get lost, so I did. I went to Europe with the clothes on my back and a Eurorail pass and an Amex card that I promptly lost. I got offered a job in Germany, so I went home and spent 5 weeks learning to speak German before returning to Augsburg in time for Octoberfest in Munich (oh, my head!!). I was fluent … with the vocabulary and grammar of a 4 year old and some additional vocabulary for teaching tennis. But I didn't have to translate. Anyway, I came back from that gig in the spring of '74 to LA and went to work for Hollywood Indoor Tennis. (Yes, we did have indoor courts in LA for a couple of years). Ostensibly, I had returned to bid on the tennis concession at the park where I had learned to play and still teach today. I thought I had an inside track, but I didn't really understand what a true "inside track" might have cost me. Hollywood Indoor would have been fun, but I got offered a job to run the Long Island Adult Tennis Camp at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club for Billie Jean King and Dennis Van der Meer's Tennis America (I had been a camp counselor for Dennis in 1968 after my sophomore year in college and he had gotten me a head pro job the following year at the Glenbrook Inn and Ranch, which was the real life Ponderosa in the 19th century!). So that's how I ended up getting to the Hamptons for the first time in the summer of 1974. (Also, how I lost my heart to Mary M during the week of indoctrination into Tennis America's system at Dennis's camp in Incline Village. They gave me my own hotel room right across from the courts. Wow! What a week! I was a broken puppy for at least 8 months. Pan Am stewardess, model, gourmet cook, mensa IQ, absolutely gorgeous, couldn't figure out what she was doing with me…)

Anyway, I went to Bridgehampton and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Absolutely beautiful spot. 14 courts right on the beach. Paul Annacone's dad, Dom, was the manager of the club. I ran the camp for the summer and at the end of the summer, Tennis America went bankrupt. So I went back to the club and cut a deal to run my own Long Island Adult Tennis Camp at the club in the summer of 1975. I didn't have that deal cut and signed until well into 1975. In the meantime, that winter I had sublet a 3 floor walk-up studio apartment on 72nd street near 3rd Avenue and was teaching here and there. I was fed up with the tournaments we were playing that didn't offer any prize money, so I organized my own circuit. I think I ran 4 events in total from Thanksgiving to New Year's and gave away $500 so that quarterfinalists got back their $25 entry fee. I never got credit for that, but it changed the way local open tournaments operated in the East. I didn't lose much, but I got closer to being broke and at the end of my 3 month sublease at the beginning of 1975, I was trying to get my hack license. I got the NY driver's license upgrade, but I hadn't quite gotten familiar enough with NY to take the NYC hack license test.

So in the beginning of 1975, I had no place to live. I had payments on a Subaru I had bought from a dealer in Ridgefield, CT who was the co-owner of an indoor club that had been a partner in a satellite operation of Tennis Academy, Inc and had provided my with my address for most of 1973. I was driving around the NY metro area from Westchester county to Long Island giving lessons where I could and practicing where I could and, of course, playing tournaments when I could. I took a room in a boarding house in Hastings-on-the-Hudson close to the River Tennis Club where I did most of my practicing and some teaching. It wasn't worth a penny more than the $17 a week it cost me. I was in the process of finalizing the deal for the adult tennis camp at Bridgehampton. A couple of times a week I would go out to Seaford Indoor Tennis to play with the kids of the owner, Larry Levins. He had cosigned a note for me to buy a video camera to use in my teaching. I was even going around using the camera to video basketball games for Hofstra University. Video was pretty scarce in 1975. Another tennis pro, Paul Lynner, had hooked my up with the athletic department. But I ended up getting stiffed there too! Then in March, it seemed like things started to go my way.

My lawyer from Tennis Academy, Kevin MacCarthy, was settling the estate for a man who had been in a rent controlled studio apartment in midtown on Lexington between 64th and 65th Streets. All I had to do was pay the rent. The real estate company(I think Douglass Elliman), could raise the rent to anything for the new tenant. Kevin wanted the apartment eventually, but I could have it in the meantime. I went in as the dead man's brother's nephew. I found out later that the lawyer, never told the brother. Anyway, the first few month's I only had to pay the rent at the old rate, $37 a month, about a tenth of what it could have been. When they eventually raised it to a new level on the new lease (not in my name, unfortunately), they raised that rent to $100 a month. When they finally figured out I wasn't who we were claiming, I had to leave so the lawyer could try to fight it out for himself. By that time the rent was up to about $125 a month and I had put in almost $10,000 into refurbishing the place, but that was not for another 6 years in May of 1981! Needless to say, it was a very good deal.

[tennis_chiro]

1975 - Part 2

About the same time, the man who had hired me in Germany, Renzo Raiss, offered me a wild card in the WCT Munich event he was running. The year before I had played qualifying and ended up running clinics for the ballkids, calling the players from the locker room for their matches and umpiring Wojtek Fibak's first pro match (beating Ray Ruffels). Renzo was trying to be nice to me and wanted me to come back to Germany. But now I was in the main draw as a player. I got killed in the first round by Kjell Johansson, 6-0, 6-2, but it wasn't that close. I was so nervous I was hitting first volleys into the first row on the fly. If you ever watched the Grand Slam Cup on the Olympic Basketball Stadium court, you know that is a long way out! But in doubles, I played with a friend and fellow wild card from Augsburg, Max Wunchig. We drew the number one team in the world, Hewitt and McMillan. We lost 6-2, 7-5, but I got an angle volley past them and a lob-volley over them. We came back from 2 breaks down in the second set to get to 5-5 and I served 12 aces in 5 service games. It was quite a thrill. I went out to hit on my quarter of the court for a reserved 1/2 hour practice time not knowing who I would be hitting with (there was only one court), and I ended up hitting with Borg. So I had my one point and my world ranking. At that time there were only about 300 players with more than one point so I had a pretty good world ranking in singles and doubles. Unfortunately, somebody didn't file the right papers and the ATP shows me in the archives as Qualifier1, Q. I need to get that corrected. The only evidence I have that it was me is an old copy of World Tennis I got about 2 years ago that shows my name in the draw. Even there, they spelled it wrong! Still it was a great experience. I even got to go back to Augsburg for a couple of days. And I got to see Evi again. Nothing like a German girl speaking English…or German for that matter, but that's a different story.

But that was just March. Things were looking up. My doubles partner's (Harold Mollin) girlfriend had even gotten me a date back in NY. I was starting to feel alive again, even if I was sleeping on the floor (certainly better than a sack of potatoes) and parking on the street in Manhattan(not exactly giving lessons to the stars; that would come later). I basically organized myself so I would leave by 8AM and stay out of Manhattan until 7PM unless I had found an alternate street space for a couple of days. I knew every space and its timetable from 60th to 72nd street between 1st Avenue and 5th Avenue!

One other nice thing happened in 1975. I went in on a casting call for a tennis pro to hit a serve for a Dunlop commercial. Actually, I was asked to come in. Someone liked my service motion. When I walked in for the audition, I knew I was at the front of the line. I had no lack of confidence about my service motion and by now the girls had convinced me that I wasn't unattractive; but that didn't really matter. What really mattered was the Creative Director for the audition was a former student of mine from the Tennis Academy in Grand Central Station. I think his name was Ed Gori. He was standing in the receiving court and wanted me to show him what I could do with a Dunlop racket. I had tried to play with Laver's trusty stick and it had felt like just that, a stick. I couldn't play with it to save my life. But I had no trouble breaking off a couple of aces. I got the job. The actual shoot a few days later was interesting. They placed a camera just above me and I had to toss into the lens and then hit the ball. They even had my hands manicured. I also had to hit directly at a cameraman who was immediately behind the service line behind a piece of plexigas with a camera. If they had asked me to miss the guy, it wouldn't have been a problem. About 6 years later, I did a double for Robert Wagner on Hart to Hart, hitting an ace. No problem. The director on that shoot said to me, "Hey, that was a real ace! Just like the pros!" I said, "Of course!" But hitting right at someone with a camera at the service line, even if he was behind plexiglass, was the hardest thing for me. We had to do take after take after take. They played the commercial at least 4 times during Wimbledon and the US Open in '75 and '76. It was a 60 second shot (is that even possible today?) of me hitting one serve in slow motion. Unfortunately, it didn't become something that was played hundreds of times, but I did get over $1000 by the time the residuals were done. I was looking for any kind of income in those days. I remember going in for a shaving creme casting call for a tennis pro and telling them in the audition that I couldn't really pull off reading the lines they had about shaving creme, but I had a better idea for them. I could hook the tip to use the shaving creme to an instant tennis tip that would interest more viewers. I didn't get the gig, but the commercial ended up coming out with Pancho Gonzales giving the tennis tips!

So eventually, I made it back to the Hamptons for the summer of 1975 as the owner/operator of the Long Island Adult Tennis Camp. All that meant was I got to pay the rent for the house my staff shared with me (as well as their grocery bills); that I got to pay the club for the privilege of running the camp at their club; and I ran a very good camp. It had to be; it ended up costing me nearly $400/day over what I was taking in! I worked my ass off and lost about $20,000…that I didn't even have. It took me about 2 years to pay that off. It would have been worth it if the club had let me rewrite our contract so I could get a partner; I had created great goodwill. But they wouldn't let me bring in a partner and it ended up being a total loss. Well, not a total loss… I did end up meeting Nancy, the Clinique executive. As a professional tennis instructor, you are not supposed to date your clients, but …

Anyway, by the fall I was back to sleeping on the floor and driving all over the NY metro area to find lessons and practice. I had lost even more money by sponsoring the first Tennis Jamboree run by my assistant camp director, Alan Jacobi. I had to win the last tournament at Woodbury Indoor Tennis because I didn't have the money to pay off the first place prize money. That should go down as one of my best ever clutch efforts. I wasn't even favored to reach the semifinals before going through the summer I had gone through. I had been writing up my tournaments for the early offerings of Tennis Week. If only I could have put in some of the background details I am offering up here, someone might have paid attention to what I was writing. Can't you just see it "Tournament Sponsor Wins Event to Avoid Insolvency"

Not long after this I was offered a winter job in Florida. When I ran the Tennis Academy, Bob Towers had handled our advertising. He was the major domo of exhibition tennis in the NY area. He took pros up regularly for weekend exhibitions in the Catskills. You always saw him in the front row on center court at the Open because he did the advertising for Billy Talbert. Well, he had done the advertising for a tennis camp at Harder Hall Golf Resort in Sebring, FL. Bolletieri was supposed to go run the camp and he pulled out at the last minute and they had built 12 courts and needed a tennis camp director. Somehow, Bob came to me. Sebring is right in the middle of Florida, close to nothing. Oranges, the race track (is that still operating?) and nothing. Nice people, but no tennis players; at least, none that were going to come see me at anywhere near the price I was planning on charging. But the job came with free room and board. The tennis shop was right at the tee of the driving range and I improved my golf game helping the assistant pro clear the range by chipping the balls back at the tees. Gotta get those reps in. They had an active golf academy. At the end of the day, the golf pros would go out on the course for a quick 9 holes, playing pretty fast in their carts. I would strap my bag onto their cart and run alongside them to get my exercise while I played with them. My golf did get a lot better that year. But for income…I was busy over Xmas/Hannukah; really more Hannukah at Harder Hall. I had one week the whole winter where we had more than 5 in the tennis camp. I had one week where I was really busy because I ran a "Mini" during the Florida satellite circuit and about 50 tennis bums descended on sleepy little Sebring. And there was the week of the race at Sebring. Fortunately, my only overhead in those days was my $100 a month rent in NY and paying off my bills from the previous summer's camp debacle. I was trying through that winter to renegotiate my deal in Bridgehampton and I know I made at least one trip back to NY to do that, but I couldn't get it done. In retrospect, I should have stayed in NY with Nancy. My efforts at Harder Hall did end up convincing Bob Towers to put me up for what was supposed to be one of the best jobs in tennis in the spring of 1977, the Director/concessionaire at the Concord Hotel. But that was 1977.

All in all, 1975 was a very interesting year. There probably aren't more than 15 or 20 of the last 40 that are nearly as worthwhile retelling. Especially not if I stop to consider what I should and shouldn't be retelling! But I definitely wasn't "camped out someplace in the Hamptons giving tennis lessons to the stars or running his song and dance by some nice looking Long Island babes". It was a tough year.

[tennis_chiro]

As for the tournament

Well, Mardy Fish couldn't quite do it. Tsonga has turned out to be the wild card we thought he might be. But Federer has had a lot of rest and he looked awfully good on Monday night. I think it will be hard for Tsonga to maintain his hot hand in the midst of this long rain delay. I am torn between Djokovic and Federer because Novak looks so solid and quick and he's had a lot of time to recover from what ailed him in Cincy. Tipsarevic could be dangerous because he knows Nole so well, but he doesn't have the tools to overpower him and, barring another injury, it's got to be Novak. But against Fed, this extended delay may work to build a lot of pressure on Djokovic. If they have decent conditions, that should be a helluva match. I hope it isn't diminished because they had to play the quarters to 5 sets the day before.

In the bottom half, it should be Rafa and Murray. But these conditions could set up real well for Roddick. If he gets through Ferrer, I think he is almost a favorite against Rafa in this situation. It will be crazy when they get to play that match. I just hope they get to play it in Ashe, although it might be even crazier and more like a street fight in Armstrong. As much as the crowd likes Rafa, they love Roddick, especially as an underdog. And he has sounded so good, ...mature, ... ready... in his interviews. If his arm is OK, that serve could get pumped with amazing amounts of adrenalin. And returns won't be as sharp after all this rest. I wouldn't have said that before the tournament started, but now, I think Roddick has a very good chance. I think he would have to check into a recuperation center after the tournament to get his adrenal glands restored, but it could be really crazy in Flushing this weekend. It should be fun to see.

As for the women, Serena has always looked that way. It is not an unnatural look like the drug induced physiques you have seen in the track world. I know people who knew her growing up. They said bumping into her was like bumping into a brick s#$!house. She just got an extra natural dose of whatever. Unless she gets hurt, or seriously distracted, these girls can't handle her. Not in crunch time. I'll be really impressed if any of them do.

don

[don_budge]

Rain delay...over.

During rain delays it is important to have something to fill in the void created by the lull in the action. Mission accomplished...as G. W. Bush, the great living room warrior, once proclaimed from the bow of the deck of an aircraft carrier. Thank you...tennis_chiro for the great story. Why not a screen play? "Tin Cup"...tennis_chiro style. It's only a question of the leading role...who could fill the shoes? And the ladies...aye yae yae. Only the voice of experience is qualified to pass on the traditions of the past. You, sir, are a classic. No wonder I found your contributions over on "10sballs" so entertaining. 1975, what a year for all of us from entirely different perspectives. Thank you for sharing your memories..Big Brother!


Back to the tournament...the 2011 US Open, resume action:

Federer vs. Djokovic...huge heavyweight marquee appeal. Federer says he can beat Djokovic anywhere and now he gets the opportunity to back up his words. He looks like he is as ready as he will ever be. Djokovic, on the other hand, looks to be slightly vulnerable. A night match favors The Man...as evidenced by the way he dispatched The Baby Bull...Tsonga. No muss, no fuss.

Roger's showing signs of casting the old fantastic lightning bolts...he must serve big. Did Dolgopolov show Federer something of a clue about the Djokovic backhand?

In the "other" half...it's a big surprise and it could potentially lead to more surprises. Two Americans alive, kicking, serving big and they can't be ruled out of either match altogether. Fingers crossed. Holding thumbs...Swedish style. Come on, boys! Both are underdogs with something to prove. The perfect recipe for an upset on a big stage in front of the home crowd.

[tennis_chiro]

The Big 4

I have never seen Rafa look tougher than he did today. Custer had a better chance against Sitting Bull! I'm sure Murray will play better tomorrow, but I think the extension of the match by Isner helped Nadal out tomorrow. On the other hand, Nadal made such quick work of Roddick that he played little more than he might have for an off-day workout. Gosh, he looked sharp.

On the other hand, Nole and Roger have had plenty of rest. Roger is lucky to be in the top half and have had all the rest he has gotten this week. Djokovic has had almost a full 3 weeks since he came apart in Cincy and he should be fully recovered, but he continues to serve a few miles per hour below the levels of the spring. I think he will bring that speed up against Roger. If he doesn't, that is a sure sign that there really is something wrong with him. Anyone who is not 100% this weekend won't be able to survive.

Roger played so well this week and the fact that he gets that extra day of rest between semis and finals as well as this week's light schedule make this shape up as perhaps his best chance to add an additional Slam to his resume in recent memory. I really like his chances, but I was so impressed with Nadal today that I make him the front runner. I can't wait to see the matches tomorrow. Listening to Luke Jensen or Taylor Dent on USOpen.org has been really great. I'm set for the day!

don
PS They put up some thoughts about Isner/Murray on 10sballs.com. If you are interested, go to

http://www.10sballs.com/author/don/

[don_budge]

The Big 4...again

Poetry in motion...http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=cldYhHaxuQg

So the whole thing so far was just a preliminary...a mere formality. Is that it? It’s the Big 4 again. Even in the quarter-finals all of the challengers were dismissed rather abruptly and succinctly. They were sent packing with their tails between their legs. I suppose one could make a case that Isner was competitive, but the truth is he was sucking for air in the third set. He was already on fumes. It's tough to lug a skyscraper around for two weeks...and then play five sets. It's funny how his advantage becomes his disadvantage in the end. It's the ironic nature of the game...of life too, it seems. Goodnight...US tennis.

Federer vs. Djokovic...

Is this a tough call, or what? The heart goes with The Man...afterall he's thirty now and he’s the father of twins with a bank account that is two or three hundred times the size of Fort Knox. Who can't relate to his problems? Seriously...he looks hungry and mean. He has a look about him that can be very intimidating. The look says to his opponent..."I'm Roger Federer and you're not". For several years, that look was all he needed...his opponents couldn't wait for the match to end so that they could kiss...his ring. It's a little different now, at his age, but old warriors know how to conjure up the old magic...the old tricks. This tournament has been all about revenge for the Swiss Mercedes. He’s paced himself all year for this moment. He’s been gracefully exiting all of the preliminary events this summer, but all of a sudden he is resembling the Roger of old. But, then again, he hates to lose in the Slams, you know. He devoured Tsonga like a little tasty tidbit of an appetizer hors-d'oeuvres, as a payback for the Wimbledon debacle and now here comes the main course...Djokovic. Djokovic had the good fortune last year at the Open to beat Roger in five sets after being down two sets to one. Roger's serve inexplicably deserted him the last two sets just when it looked like he was in the drivers seat. This year it could come back to haunt Djokovic. Federer never forgets...and he wants to be around for dessert...and the sweet taste of victory. The US Open record is within his grasp. Talk about motivation!

“Meteoric” Djokovic on the other hand has produced a tremendously high level of tennis all year evidenced not only by his win-loss record and the number of titles he has won, but by what I think is most telling attribute...the number of lopsided matches he has won and how he has won them. This year he has truly been the Dominator and he has absolutely pounded Nadal into next year because no matter what happens the rest of this year...it is his year. Yet he has still maintained being an affable sort of a guy...a real credit to himself and his family, his country and to the game. He’s a homey...to Serbia. The glare of the New York crowd in a blazing sun might prove to be a bit too much for him, though...and ironically his great year may be catching up with him and his body. There are limits to what even FitLine can replenish in the body and the soul of a human being. There isn't more than the tiniest smidgeon that separates these two cats, when their claws are sharpest and both are hungry. The difference will be who believes strongest in himself and who wants it more. It could come down to who slept better last night. It’s the tiniest of windows...the eye of a needle. I would like to personally see him disappear from this tournament if for no other reason than I won’t have to watch him bounce the ball a zillion times before each freaking serve. That’s a mind game.

Game on...Go Roger! Give us something to remember you by. My head says Djokovic...but you know where my heart lies...buried at Wounded Knee and not with Custer. No prisoners...Maestro!

Nadal vs. Murray...

Nadal has looked really sharp...but so has Murray. Murray has been playing a bit of cat and mouse with his opponents. He's never been in serious trouble but he has been toying with them. He won't be able to afford to toy with this next conquistador coming down the pipe...and he shouldn't want to either at this stage of the tournament. If he is inclined to play around with this opponent...he should make doubly sure that he does it on the Nadal backhand side of the court. He should establish his game plan around that little issue. The Nadal forehand is not to be messed with...but when you do, it must be on your terms and conditions...as Djokovic has demonstrated. Murray can really play Nadal tough, but the question is...does he have the stomach for the big stage? He has drawn the night match in the Big Apple. Does he have the moxy to say that this thing is going to be done...”My Way”? He seems to get a bit of stage fright at the wrong moments...the truly big moments when it matters most. It’s cost him in the past. Sometimes these guys get over it eventually...Lendl certainly did.

Nadal has the stomach, I think. Or is he starting to feel just a bit queasy these days...a little unsure of himself? Go ask Roddick.

Too tough to call and my heart isn't in this one. I will take Nadal...if for no other reason than conventional wisdom...for a change.

[bman]

your heart, like mine, must have been broken today.

[don_budge]

Hearts filled with Great Love...are meant to be broken

your heart, like mine, must have been broken today.

Thank you...with all of my heart for those nine beautiful words, bman. I feel for you. Your post in combination with my own feelings has provoked the deepest of thoughts in me so I must take my feelings to "Traditional Thoughts" with regard to my response to your post.

There were two matches in the men's singles event played yesterday at Flushing Meadows, New York in the Arthur Ashe stadium, but for me and many others I suspect, there was only one. That was an epic. I didn't stick around to watch the second. It was bound to be anticlimactic...as will be the Finals.

What transpired during the first one was enough for me...to last a lifetime. Yes, dear readers, for all intents and purposes the King is dead. More tragically still...with his death we are left without a trace of what was once classic tennis...because that too is officially pronounced dead and laid to rest. How we loved him, as we loved classic tennis through the years for the poetry in motion that it gave us, that he gave us...but let's face it...the grim truth is, reality has set in. We watched him executed on television before our very eyes...live from New York. A virtual tragedy. A huge irony that today is September 11...which will provide us with some perspective here.

Our beloved wizard performed his magic as never before as he danced and parried for two sets on the stage that had become his domain and for all intents and purposes, his home away from home. Then he hung on for dear life for two more sets while he did his best imitation of an aging Mohammad Ali doing a rope-a-dope hoping that he could get his adversary to punch himself out, in order that he could engage his younger and stronger opponent in a dogfight for the climactic fifth set, in the final and fifteenth round, with the slim hope that he could put himself in position to win and apply the coup de grace. He played and competed with his mind and his spirit because his body had long left him, he was almost stumbling at times towards the end, and somehow he clawed himself into position where he had the match on his racquet, on his serve, for not one but two points, and somehow he let it get away...somehow it slipped away. All that he needed was one more punch, just one more bolt of conjured lightning and it was all his for the taking. But in one blinding swing the other man struck a shot that only can be described as a streak of light, such as the image of a meteor's trail of dust through space...the King was all but pronounced dead on the spot.

The match was what it was. You saw it and you don't need me to tell you what happened. It is what happened afterwards, in combination with what bman expressed in his brief post, that caused me to feel and think about some things that I have felt all of my life that I want to share with all of you. In "Traditional Thoughts"...I hope that I can find the words to express what I feel.

I have but two comments or thoughts on the tennis match last night:

First of all, it was the reaction that Djokovic had after he struck his meteoric blow on the first match point. He had this look on his face that was right out of a Robert DeNiro scene in the " The Deer Hunter". The scene where he and Christopher Walken are playing Russian roulette against each other for the right to exist for a few additional horrible moments and for the amusement of their Vietnamese captors in the abysmal torture chamber on the river. After both of the American soldiers parlayed their turns into blanks from their weapons a couple of times, the DeNiro character turns to his captors with the most maniacal look imaginable on his face and he screams at them..."you're going to die you motherfuckers, you're going to die". And then he killed them...all of them. That was a Djokovic moment...from now on by definition. That was no act on Djokovic's part...it was a primal instinctive reaction. He looked death (defeat) square in the eyes and slung it right back at them. He made that face...right out of the ancient gallery, as Jim Morrison sang in "The End"...and he walked on down the line. That shot resembled and represented only one thing to me...a meteor. A stiletto to the King's gallant heart.

Secondly...and this is a question of science and perhaps of philosophy, but not one of emotion, was the question of equipment. Thirty some years ago, when I was attending college, I was reading a magazine called "Psychology Today" and I read something that forever is etched in my mind. In the article the author was comparing the relative drama in the game of tennis and the game of golf. The tennis analogy was that the two opponents are like swordsmen and the racquets represent the swords and the adversaries are trying to castrate each other. The tennis ball representing the opponents testicles. Not very pretty, but surprisingly apropos if you think about it. Just witness the contest last night if you don't think the analogy fits...these two don't like each other and they are not necessarily supposed to. The point of my example here is this. In the "Psychology Today" article, I am quite certain that the two swordsmen ideally are equipped with swords that are identical in order that neither will have an advantage over the other due to the equipment because so much is at stake. That match was so close...it was the tiniest of windows, my question is this...did the equipment, somehow, have any effect on the outcome? Remember geoffwilliams post of the 27" Roman sword in his "Leverage/contact point in the string bed" thread. Ironically, at about the same time I read that article in "Psychology Today" the change in tennis equipment was imposed on the game. I will leave it to you...dear reader, to think about that. Fairness...in sword fights? Fairness...in tennis matches? Equipment standards? The truth and the integrity of our fair game rest on this issue. Trust me.

Btw...the golf analogy was that of a man playing golf against himself, trying to avoid committing suicide. Anyone who has played golf seriously understands the appropriateness of this analogy as well.

Thanks bman...but as sure as I awoke today with the sight of my chocolate lab greeting me with his wagging tail, my heart is not broken. I will tell you why.

[bman]

Watching the beauty of those first two sets, combined with Fed elevating his game in the fifth, prompts me to provide eight more words that sum up my overall feeling towards the match now that it has sunk in a bit more:

I will miss Federer greatly when he retires.

[tennis_chiro]

Last man standing

I really thought Rafa was making good progress landing body blows to wear out Nole's legs and lungs even if he was falling behind, but he seemed to stop in the middle of the 2nd set. Then he got back to it at the end of the third and when he broke back at 6-5, and especially after he won the tie-breaker, I was sure Rafa had more in the tank than Nole. But it turned out Rafa ran out of fumes before Nole and he was more able to hit out for winners when he had nothing left. Gotta check out that gluten free diet. On 10sballs.com, I wrote "I don't see how Nadal stands a chance Monday night. Forget Monday night, I wouldn't be surprised if Djokovic doesn't lose another match the rest of the year." I should have written the question is whether Rafa can hold him off at next year's French. He is just better than everyone else right now. But, interestingly, none of them seem to be able to hold the necessary intensity for 5 full sets. I think they have to change their drink formulation for during the match to give them a little more help to last for more than 4 hours. That's almost 2 marathons. Asking an awful lot. I don't think matches have ever been played at this intensity for this duration before. The average in the Gonzales/Pasarel match was probably under 3 shots. The average rally in this match was over 7, with a lot of running side to side and up and back. Sure, serving and volleying is tough, but not like this. I bet both guys are sitting in the trainers room right now with IV's stuck out of them trying to fight off cramps.

It was an exciting match. I wonder if Rafa will be able to retool to be able to attack more down the line and serve bigger. He will have to do something, they all will, if they want to knock off Djokovic. I would think his goals now run: ATP London, Roland Garros and the Olympics.

don

[gsheiner]

What about Rafa's return? I think it's incredibly weak compared to Nole's, especially on the slice serve in the deuce court. In the last set, Djokovic was hitting slow slice serves to Nadal's backhand and all he can do is hit floating slice back and set the point at neutral at best.

In my opinion, he needs to learn how to do more with that serve -- he should study how djokovic handles his slice serve to djoko's backhand and just copy's djoko's footwork and technique.

Also, I'd like to see Nadal learn how to hit a sharper crosscourt backhand to the service line/sideline. Nadal's usually goes deep into the corner with his crosscourt. Contrast this with Murray and Djokovic who hit a ton of sharp crosscourt backhands.

Nadal has room for improvement so there's hope.

Glenn

[don_budge]

Men's Finals of the 2011 US Open Championships...Long live the King!

I watched the first two sets and peacefully nodded off into Never Never Land quietly confident that the result was a foregone conclusion. Djokovic is the dominator and his year has been truly meteoric. Last night's final was a fitting ending as he systematically dismantled his opponent and sent him packing with his tail between his legs. It was a rout...and it was from the beginning.

The tactics that Djokovic used were text book and they were clearly identified and documented in this month's issue of TennisPlayer as we discussed in the thread about his forehand technique. From the beginning of the match, Djokovic dictated the tempo of play to his opponent...it was going to be played on his terms. And it was.

In the first couple of games of the first set he went right into the teeth of his adversary and pounded everything into the Nadal forehand. He was just giving his opponent a taste of what was to follow and moving him over a bit towards the forehand side so that he could get on with his true intentions. After falling behind a quick break he quickly reverted to his real intentions...which were to exploit the weakness that he has turned into his own private gold mine, the backhand of Nadal. He won six quick and methodical games to wrap up the first set. Bing.

The second set started out in the same fashion, once again Djokovic reverting back to pounding the Nadal forehand. This was only a diversionary tactic to move Rafael over towards that side of the court so that he could continue to surgically dissect him with his real game plan...which he did flawlessly. The match was a foregone conclusion...as I wrote to Stotty in a message, in the third game where Djokovic depleted Nadal of everything he brought with him for the evening's match. While Djokovic and Nadal played a twenty minute game on Nadal's serve you could visibly see how it drained Nadal. You could see how much pressure that it put on Nadal to face break point after break point...and to not be able to convert his own game points. He was talking to himself trying to exhort something from inside that was not there. He was sweating bullets and doing so profusely. It sucked every bit of wind he had in his sails and as the saying goes...that game cut out his legs from under him. He could never believe for certain for the rest of the match...that he could hold his own serve. That is a real liability. It was as if Djokovic could break him at will. It was a devastating game for Nadal and it left him without any answers for the rest of the match...and maybe some questions for the rest of his career from this point forward. So much for the GOAT talk. Djokovic cast another forehand rocket of a meteor back at Nadal for the second set on set point...for all intents and purposes it was over. Bang.

Djokovic destroyed the Nadal forehand first...then he ripped out his heart by continuously swiping at the backhand with precision. Deep and hard, short with spin...now back to the forehand. Just as in the discussion of his tactics. Done deal...he's the new King. By the time the match was over I was sleeping peacefully. Bye.

Btw...John, that little bit of tactical video of Djokovic and Nadal was so loaded with information. It illuminated the process that we witnessed on the big stage last night. Good work...my friend.

[julian1]

New York Times blog

What about Rafa's return? I think it's incredibly weak compared to Nole's, especially on the slice serve in the deuce court. In the last set, Djokovic was hitting slow slice serves to Nadal's backhand and all he can do is hit floating slice back and set the point at neutral at best.

In my opinion, he needs to learn how to do more with that serve -- he should study how djokovic handles his slice serve to djoko's backhand and just copy's djoko's footwork and technique.

Also, I'd like to see Nadal learn how to hit a sharper crosscourt backhand to the service line/sideline. Nadal's usually goes deep into the corner with his crosscourt. Contrast this with Murray and Djokovic who hit a ton of sharp crosscourt backhands.

Nadal has room for improvement so there's hope.

Glenn

Just going a bit different direction.
I assume you saw

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/sports/tennis/dominant-victory-in-dominant-year-for-djokovic.html?_r=1&hp

[gsheiner]

Thanks for the link.

Everybody talks about how great Djokovic is and he is --but he has dramatically improved his serve and his volleys in the past 2 years.

Rafa needs some new patterns and new weapons against Djoko.

If I'm in his camp, that's all I'm thinking about. I study Djoko's matches against Murray and Fed and look where he gets hurt ( Granted it's different as murray and fed are righties)

Someone once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. ( or something to that effect).

Nadal has more or less been playing the same game 6 times now with predictable results.

He needs to improve and to me his biggest weakness is his backhand return --he justs gives too many big points away against mediocre serves. Even Murray was serving and volleying to rafa's backhand in the deuce court with great success.


Nadal is getting beat on neutral rallies which is why it's so important for him to creat advantage if he can on the return. This is what makes djokovic so great in my opinion -he often creates instant advantage with a penetrating return- he may have the greatest backhand return of all time -not as flashy as agassi but he's 6'2'' versus 5'10' and he covers a lot more ground.


Instead of coronating djokovic and applauding his mental strength, what do you guys think Nadal should specifically start working on in practice in order to have a better chance against Djoko?

[bottle]

Okay, I won't "coronate" him.

Sometimes I like Djoker's theatrics but I didn't, in the semi-final, when he threw his arms out for the crowd. "Me, me, me! A great shot! Don't you agree?"

Fine, except a singles tennis match isn't about one person. There's somebody on the other side of the net and deserving of respect. Along with another match point, which deserves respect as well. Those two match points were earned, which also deserved respect.

If it was the end of a Djoker poker match, someone might say, "Great move!"

But tennis is better. Djoker, you just should have shut up. Wonder if you would have won.

There was nothing illegal in what you did, but it was at least as purposefully disrupting as Serena's infraction of the hindrance rule, and I believe there should be a cosmological fine for you, just as there was a real fine for her, and universal recognition that you tainted your own victory.