Preparing for the US Open

It was all smiles for my dad and I today as we marched into The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with our grounds passes for Day 2 of the US Open! He let out a few childish giggles as he relished in what truly is his favorite holiday.

That’s right. Christmas is to small children as the US Open is to my father.

A lot of that rubbed off on me, I have to say. It was fantastic getting an up close and personal look at what I’ve been writing about for two months now. And let me just say – we got a LOT of good looks out of those grounds passes.

As I’ve said before, (“You Don’t Have $350 For a Seat at Arthur Ashe??”) you don’t need those fancy, shmancy tickets to see some of your favorite players on the court and off, (as was the case today – I’ll get to that in a minute).

We saw two fantastic matches at The Grandstand. The first was twelfth-seeded Ana Ivonovic versus 17 year old  Ukrainian qualifier, Elina Svitolina. Svitolina put up a good fight and was exciting to watch, but Ivonovic and her powerful, two-handed grip took the match at 6-3, 6-2.

Check out our awesome seats!

It was GREAT because moments later all of those empties were filled for the next match, which was Jo Wilfried Tsonga, fifth seeded, (who I listed as someone to keep a close eye on in “What Will Rafa’s Withdrawal Mean?“) versus Slovakian qualifier, Karol Beck. It was an exciting match. Tsonga took the first two pretty easily at 6-3, 6-1, but the their set got pretty thrilling when it went into a tiebreak at 6-6, Tsonga eventually taking it 7-6 (2), (when he did the “Jo Willie” signature victory dance).

Beck had a bad habit throughout the match of letting game after game after game get to deuce and have the advantage bounced back forth before letting it go to Tsonga. It seemed like it was always slipping through his hands – which it did entirely in the third set tiebreak.

Tsonga on the other hand was on fire, with one serve that clocked 137 mph. The most fantastic thing about his serve, however, is the fact that he throws it up so high and so far behind him, that you almost think he might collapse backwards at any moment while trying to strike the ball. Instead he does the opposite and manages to slam it with incredible force.

After the match, we strolled around the food court and eventually made  our way over to the practice courts. For those of you who have never been, there are five practice courts way in the back corner of Billie Jean, behind Arthur Ashe. Three sides are lined with incredibly tall shrubbery making it impossible to see through, the other has a small opening with a few bleachers set up. If you get to that opening at just the right time, you can see all the biggest names of the tourney practice only feet from you.

Well. This is where I must disclose some personal information. I do not mind admitting that I have developed quite the crush on Novak Djokovic over the course of this blog journey, (See my profile on him at “Djokovic the Djoker“).

Here’s some proof of my crush.

It is love.

Okay, not literally. BUT I had absolutely no expectation of seeing him in person, (hence this photo) even though I knew he was playing at Ashe at 7PM. However, fate, (which is trying to force us together) led me straight to the practice courts just half an hour before he was scheduled to arrive. The word hadn’t quite gotten out yet, so I got a great spot up against the fence, and watched at 4:45 as he entered the court. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Unfortunately, the players practicing at the time were running late, so he didn’t stay long. But he did take the time to stand behind Caroline Wozniacki and act as her ball boy. I don’t mean he just threw some balls back to her hitter – he fully took on ball boy mode, with the straight back, open palms, then hands behind his back. He winked, (right at me) the crowd let out a hearty laugh, and I sighed thinking, “What a Djoker”.

We got to see Andy Murray come by the practice courts as well, (his hair is WAY redder in person). Serena was set to come on at 4:45 but by 5:45 when we left, she still hadn’t appeared. Bummer.

Practice courts are definitely the way to go after you’ve seen the best matches of the day, (if you only have a grounds pass). I’m not sure everyone would agree with this, but it’s really thrilling to see the big names so close! I loved it.

Anyway – I had a fantastic time. For those of you headed out to Flushing in the next two weeks, have a blast. For those of you watching at home – get ready, because I’m betting that the men’s singles will be a fight to the death this year.

Signing off for now. Thank you to everyone who read, commented and shared this blog. It’s been an honor to “Prepare” you for this great tourney.

image courtesy of bloomberg.com

The 2o12 Olympics at Wimbledon were filled with performances both contrary and in line with how the pros have been playing throughout the year. A quick rundown:

Men’s Singles Gold (Best out of five): Brit, Andy Murray, (Gold) beats Swiss, Roger Federer, (Silver) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4

Men’s Singles Bronze (Best out of three): Argentinian, Juan Martin Del Porto, (Bronze) beats Serbian, Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4

Women’s Singles Gold (Best out of three): American, Serena Williams (Gold) beats Russian, Maria Sharapova (Silver) 6-0, 6,1

Women’s Singles Bronze (Best out of three): Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka beat Russian, Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4

After a disastrous start to the Grand Slam season, the world watched as Serena Williams took it all at Wimbledon in July, as chronicled earlier in this blog. (July Archives: “It’s Anyone’s Guess for Serena Williams”) Therefore, it really was no surprise to see her win on Centre Court again just weeks later – but the sheer domination of Maria Sharapova, (only winning one game against Williams) surpassed many who expected a close match. Sports Illustrated noted that it was “the most lopsided women’s finals in Olympic history.”

The medal secured Williams the “Career Golden Slam,” meaning she has now won every Grand Slam tournament, (though not in one season) in addition to gold in an Olympic Game. (Only achieved once previously by a female, Steffi Graff in 1988.) Williams also received gold in doubles with sister, Venus.

It was a sad day for Roger Federer, however, who would have also secured the “Golden Slam” for the first time had he defeated Andy Murray in the Single’s Gold match. History showed that he could have, as he has won over Murray in three Grand Slam finals, including last month at Wimbledon – the same grass where Federer has stood seven times victorious. (Read more: “You Have to Look Beneath the Surface, or Do You?”) BleacherReport called it a fluke, but a potential rematch in Queens at the end of the month will be a better teller. That rematch seems all the more likely since news broke that Rafael Nadal backed out of a recent Toronto tourney due to a knee injury.

But, no one should be so quick to count out Novak Djokovic, (“Novak ‘the Djoker’ Djokovic – Not Your Average ATP Second in the World” – August Archives). He has had an incredibly impressive two years He even skipped out of the Closing Ceremonies last night to travel to Toronto (where Nadal dropped out), and won his 31st tourney title.

The Olympics gave fans a lot to look forward to at the US Open – but we just have to sit back on our couches and stare at a television to see it. You can be sure, however, that the players’ celebration was short. They now have to train vigorously for the hard courts coming in a couple weeks, prepare for the effect of travel, new opponents, and a new venue.

Wishing them luck.

photo cred: www.mommybytes.com

I hear someone asking themselves, “What does this picture have anything to do with tennis?” If it’s you I’m hearing, read on.

As I am sure it is the case with any sport, tennis has it’s own funny quirks.

For example:

US Open Ticket-holder #1: What did they just say?

US Open Ticket-holder #2: Love.

US Open Ticket-holder #1: Who’s in love?

Okay – this exchange probably wouldn’t take place between two people who had actually purchased tickets to watch a professional tennis match…But, the US Open is pretty regularly referred to as a ‘social event’ – attracting fans and novices alike – for the prestige.

So for all you socialites out there, who received a ticket to the US Open in the mail from your manager/boyfriend/PR team and would like to avoid the embarrassing conversation I just cited, listen in while I explain the meaning and ancestry of tennis’ most talked about term.

Fans – you might enjoy this too!

Love: 

In tennis, “love” refers to a player’s score of zero. In any game, a player must win four points, (by two). Those points are: 15, (you can think of this as point one) 30, (two) 40, (three) and finally, game, (the winning fourth point). But before you get any of those numbers on your scoreboard, you start with love. Nothing. Love = nothing. Sound a little pessimistic?  It’s not.

The word “love”, as it is used to describe zero points in a game of tennis, has two very logical theories of origin – one British and one French, both debated.

The English conception, (if true) supposes that the phrase “neither for love, nor money,”  was reduced simply, to “love”, meaning that a player, even with zero points, was still playing purely for the love of the sport. (Unless you’re Serena Williams, then you’ve played for 38 million.)

The French version, which seems to be more widely accepted, says that the term “love” came from a mispronunciation and eventual change of the French word “l’oeuf”, meaning “egg”, which was originally used in France, (where tennis is said to have originated) because of an egg’s similar appearance to the number zero, (0). Egg = 0 = l’oeuf = the English hearing “love” and just saying “love” from then on.

Regardless of which you choose to support, either is better than subscribing to some idea that tennis as a sport believes that “love” and “nothing” are synonyms. That would be a turn-off.

Who doesn’t love water-cooler trivia? Here are a few fun facts:

The name “Tennis” :  Some believe it was the ancient Egyptians who created the precursor for the game we play today in a town called “Tinnis” along the Nile. Others say “tennis” comes from the French word, “tenez” meaning “take it”, as in sending the ball to your opponent.

Early Tennis : Truthfully, modern tennis came about by slowly moving away from handball. It was popular amongst French monks who’d play strictly with their hands and a rope. As it became an everyman sport, players first wore gloves, then webbed-gloves, then paddles, and finally, rackets.

On that subject : It is believed that the term “racket” actually evolved from the Arabic word, “rahat”, meaning “palm”. See the connection?

That’s plenty to make you sound really smart and impressive at the US Open this month.

You’re welcome.

Clay. Grass. PlexiCushion. DecoTurf.

The latest secret weapons for Tempurpedic? Maybe, but today I’m only talking about The Grand Slam courts and their four different surfaces.

By now I have outlined the four tourneys for you. To recap, seated players go from Australia in January, to France in May, to London in late June, and New York in August. That’s enough travel to make the average person a little scattered – but in addition, these pros have to adjust to an extreme change in the conditions of their courts in each location. For some, it’s a minor shift. For others, it’s intimidating, and at times, a deal breaker.

While Roland Garros court in France has always been a clay one, the others were always natural grass, until ’74 when US switched to clay, then DecoTurf, and ’87, when Australia chose Rebound Ace, then PlexiCushion. Now Wimbledon is the lone remaining green – and no court is alike.

A brief outline of what to expect on each surface:

The clay at Roland Garros: First of all, you’re playing on what is essentially dirt. France in May can get potentially humid. Dirt + humidity = one sticky court. You have to be extremely agile and fit to handle that footwork. Second, the clay slows down the ball and lets it bounce higher, this means a great receiver will do well, while a power server will struggle. Legend, Pete Sampras, endured a famous career-long battle with the surface. In the end, he was never able to come out on top.

The grass at Wimbledon: Similarly to clay, weather effects the grass significantly. Uncovered games are stopped and delayed constantly, effecting and shifting momentum. (Clay games are also delayed for rain, but are NOT delayed for humidity.) Even with the delays and drying, the grass is naturally a little slippery. Unlike shock-absorbent clay, grass propels the ball forward at lightening speeds and at lower heights. Speed-wise, grass is the stark opposite of clay, and thus helps players with different strengths. The winners on grass? The ‘power server’ we talked about who uses the speed to their advantage. In this case, Sampras dominated, with seven Wimbledon titles, (matched by Roger Federer) and Venus and Serena Williams, with five apiece.

Plexicushion at Melbourne and DecoTurf at Arthur Ashe: Both are hard courts, and many players and coaches consider the surfaces to be not only very similar, but a friendly middle ground between clay and grass. The courts are considered slower than grass, but faster than clay. US is an “acrylic” hard court, while AUS is a “synthetic” hard court. The majority of players tend to enjoy both because of the reduction of extremes, however they are also regarded as the most dangerous due to the sand in the top paint, which can magnify topspins and bother, or injure, a players joints. Andre Agassi is indisputably the best on the hard courts, holding the record for the most titles: nine total, five in Queens and four in Melbourne.

I asked my father, Steve Calleran, long-time tennis fan and recreational player, which surface he preferred.

“My favorite? I’ve always loved playing on hard courts. There’s almost no clay in America. But a local gym has ‘Har-tu’, American green clay – it’s a bit more forgiving, and these days, that’s a consideration.”

I laugh and tell him he doesn’t look a day over twenty, thirty, forty.

There has never been an official admission from the US Open as to why they introduced DecoTurf at the conception of The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 1978. Perhaps they were aiming to be “new” or “high-tech”. Many fans and observers however, believe economics may have been involved. The acrylic courts cost almost nothing to maintain – just a couple cans of paint for the bounds lines. In comparison, grass and clay can rack up monstrous bills in up-keep.

In any case, when it comes to The Grand Slams, the material your playing on will always have some effect on your performance. My Dad summed it up:

“The surface is VERY important.”

What a year.

Actually – what a couple years.

To say that it’s been smooth sailing lately for the player many call the best female to play the game, would be grossly incorrect. Serena Williams, after suffering from a leg injury and a pulmonary embolism that essentially took her out of 2010 and ’11, endured starting twenty-twelve Grand Slam tourneys that were nothing short of mortifying.

Flashback to January: Five-time winner of the tournament, Williams goes out in the fourth round at the Australian Open against Belarussian Ekaterina Makarova. Ranked 56th in the world.

Flashback to May: Add extreme insult to injury. It’s the French Open and Williams is knocked out in the third, second, FIRST round (ouch) by Frenchman Virginie Razzano – ranked 111th in the world. The New York Times calls Serena’s game “a meltdown as epic and complete as any in her career.”

Flashback to the beginning of July: Serena shocks the world when she walks away with TWO Wimbledon titles in ONE DAY. Her fifth singles title AND fifth doubles title with sister Venus were secured in less that NINE HOURS! WHAT THE HECK?

What happened to the girl who got demolished in Australia and France? She was nowhere to be found in London. Serena was at her best – proving once again why she holds 14 Grand Slam singles titles and is currently ranked fourth in the world by the WTA.

In an event one could only call serendipitous, Serena will play on that same Wimbledon green next week with her sister – battling for the Olympic doubles title. That gives us all one more opportunity to be impressed/confused/shocked by her performance before the US Open.

All we can do now is wait for the one major question to be answered:

Which Serena will we see in Queens next month?