If you are one of the rare men’s tennis fans who care about those outside of the Big Four and believe that tennis is about more than selling Rolex watches, the weeks leading up to the first round of the U.S. Open hold serious intrigue.  For the first time in about seven years, the NCAA college champion has received a wild card entry into the U.S Open. (The USTA recently has snubbed foreign-born NCAA champions, including two-time chap Somdev Devvarman of the University of Virginia.) 

This year, the 2009 NCAA singles champion Devin Britton of the University of Mississippi is in, as are Taylor Dent, Jesse Levine and the Kalamazoo champion and others.   I’m hoping that the USTA will let Britton blog about the experience, as he did in Wimbledon.  He critiqued London movie theater concessions, raving about the candy selection with this line:  “Solid effort from the English.”  I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about New York. For a great piece about him, check out Peter Bodo’s profile, Rod Laver Don’t Fish.  Britton is the next great hope to bring back the serve-and-volley game.  I’m happy to see a fellow southerner charging the net, and hope he goes deep. 

Jordan Cox got a late entry into the qualies on Monday and will have to win his way into main draw.  Cox, who turned both 17 and professional this summer, beat Britton in their epic semifinal 16-14 third set in Wimbledon.  

The USTA also announced qualies wild card in last week’s press release: “Players receiving US Open qualifying wild cards are: Lester Cook (25, Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 2008 US Open boys’ singles champion Grigor Dimitrov (18, Bulgaria), Alexander Domijan (17, Wesley Chapel, Fla.), Ryan Harrison (17, Bradenton, Fla.), Scoville Jenkins (turns 23 on Sunday, Atlanta), 2009 USTA Boys’ 18s runner-up Ryan Lipman (18, Nashville, Tenn.), Tim Smyczek (21, Milwaukee, Wis.), Blake Strode (22, St. Louis) and Michael Venus (21, Orlando, Fla.). Strode and Venus are both members of the 2009 USTA Summer Collegiate Team.”  

The qualifying tournament starts on Tuesday.  If you are within striking distance of New York and can get to Flushing Meadows, it is very much worth checking out.  You’ll see world class tennis for free, and won’t have to wait in the obscene U.S. Open lines.  Here’s the blurb from the tournament, and check back on this link for the draw, which was not up yet as of Sunday night:  “If you can’t wait for the US Open to begin, you can get a head start on the action by coming out for the US Open Qualifying Tournament-one of the largest tennis tournaments in the U.S.-with $1million in prize money. It’s held free to the public from Tuesday, August 25, to Friday, August 28, and consists of 128 men and 128 women competing for the final 32 entries (16 men and 16 women) in the 2009 US Open singles draws. Check back soon for qualifying scores and results.”

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