Top Spin Blog

A Big Win for a Young American, and a Big American Bombs Out

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:53:54 +0000

Compelling dynamics for the American men at this year’s U.S. Open, with Andy Roddick losing to Janko Tipsarevic (a match I thought would be tough for him when I first saw the draw) and qualifier 18-year-old Ryan Harrison upsetting No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic, a wily veteran and no easy win for Harrison. After a strong spring, it has been a very tough summer for Roddick, and he is now in desperate danger of falling out of the top ten for the year. At 28, it will be no easy feat for him to get back near the top. On the other hand, this could be the watershed for Harrison, a decade younger than Roddick.

Despite Roddick’s early departure, there are several Americans left who can go deep in New York, with Harrison as a new favorite, but also Mardy Fish, already into the third round. John Isner and Sam Querrey also moved on yesterday, and Isner looked good coming off a recent ankle injury. Hoping to see one or two of them left come Super Saturday, and after studying the draw, my money is Isner and maybe Fish reaching the semis. Querrey also has a chance. As much as I’d like to see Harrison, I doubt he has much of a chance to move past Nadal if he reaches the fourth round. And don’t forget James Blake, at 30, making perhaps his last run, but Djokovic looms as his third round opponent.

Ryan Harrison

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Tennis Not Suited for Rocky at Monday’s Open

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:48:11 +0000

On Monday I was back and forth between the Grandstand and Armstrong courts, looking for the Rocky of tennis. But something occurred to me as I watched the underdogs go down: In boxing, you always hear about a puncher’s chance. But in tennis, one great punch is only one point, and to win a best-of-five you need a big string of punches, eighteen games worth of points in fact. In the long run, the better player is almost always going to win.

Michael Russell, the Rocky Balboa I was hoping for, started strong with some punch, an early break against Davydenko on Monday, but after the Russian settled in, there wasn’t much Russell could do to hurt him. He couldn’t outslug him from the baseline, he couldn’t beat him by taking the net, and a few stabs at junk balls were futile. It was just that helpless feeling that anyone who has played competitive tennis knows well — what can you do about the impenetrable wall put up by a superior player? Davydenko’s groundstrokes were laser sharp, and Russell started to make errors as the set went on. All Russell could do was hope Davydenko perhaps hurt himself or the Russian mafia had money on the American, neither of which happened. It was a tough draw for the hardworking 32-year-old American.

There were two almost upsets. ATP No. 214 Andreas Haider-Maurer fought back from match points at two sets to none to push No. 5 seed Robin Soderling the distance on the Grandstand Court. One weak service game by the 23-year-old qualifier Haider-Maurer in the fifth was all it took. Otherwise, Haider-Maurer hit 34 aces to Soderling’s eight. Soderling moped about a bit in the heat, benefiting from the shade that moved over the court. And in a match I didn’t see, American qualifier Robert Kendrick, ranked 149 in the world, pushed Gael Monfils the distance in front of a packed Court 11, but lost in the fifth 6-4.

It didn’t happen Monday, but one day it’s going to happen that some qualifier is going to get some big wins and go all the way. When it does, it will be a thrill.

Michael Russell, Aug. 30, 2010

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Roddick Bound For Secound Round Battle: Blake & Fish in the Same Quarter

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:11:54 +0000

Much of the early analysis I heard from the talking heads on ESPN judged Roddick’s draw as favorable to the quarters, but the second round most likely will see him paired up against Janko Tipsarevic, the Serb who knocked him out in the second round of Wimbledon 2008. Their career record is 1-1, both matches at Wimbledon. (Roddick beat him in four in 2006.) Of course, Tipsarevic retired with an ankle injury in his last match at only 2-2 in the first set in Toronto, so he might not be at full speed.

Red hot Mardy Fish and the almost forgotten James Blake are in the same quarter of the draw, both with favorable draws offering the likelihood of them moving on a few rounds.

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Looking for the Rocky of Tennis

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:09:54 +0000

Most every article or broadcast preview of the U.S. Open I’ve seen focuses on the obvious questions, as though most tennis journalists are sharing notes– will Nadal win his first Open? Can Federer reclaim another title? Is Murray going to cash the U.S. Open Series bonus check for obscene millions and go to Disney World with an Olympus camera? Blah, blah, blah…

But first thing on Monday is a match I’m excited about. Michael Russell, 32 with a career ATP match record of 40 and 88 after 12 years on tour, plays perennial top tenner Nikolay Davydenko on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court the first match of the day. Russell, ranked 80, is the obvious underdog to No. 6 Davydenko. The two middleweights (Russell is 160 pounds to Davydenko’s 154) have never played before.

I’m going to be at the Open tomorrow morning and pulling for Russell for all I’m worth. American tennis needs a Rocky, a player from down in the rankings who has been battling on the minor league circuits for years. ESPN wrote an article about his tough career path three years ago – and he’s still out battling. This is a great shot for him, on a show court, in the Big Apple.

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Americans Up and Down on the ATP Tour

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:58:24 +0000

As soon as I write a post about Americans hoisting trophies in the summer hardcourt tournaments, the news all turns bad. Roddick, Querrey, Isner and Fish all lose early in Washington. Roddick falls to 11 in the rankings, marking the first time since the ATP rankings began that there are no American men in the world’s top ten. Querrey, despite winning the Los Angeles tournament two weeks ago, falls out of the top 20 to 21. Then Roddick pulls out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a yet-to-be-determined illness (the symptoms of which are lethargy), and no other American reaches the third round of the Masters 1000 event.

If anything, this shows how tough it is on the ATP Tour. In the spring, Roddick won the Masters 1000 event in Miami and finished second at Indian Wells, but his poor showings in Grand Slams over the last year have hurt him, and it’s not surprising he dropped once the points he earned for the 2009 Wimbledon final dropped away (ranking points expire after 12 months). And Querrey falls one point despite winning a tournament?

A rankings decline is precipitous on a bad streak. Remember James Blake? He’s 10-12 for 2009 and has fallen all the way down to 108 in the world, from No. 10 only two years ago. But as fast as it falls, you can recover. Some big wins in New York at the U.S. Open can propel one of these Americans back up the charts. I’m betting that either Roddick, Querrey, Isner or Fish will reach the U.S. Open final, and I’d love to see Blake make a last, big run and see a nice guy finish first. The big show gets started on Aug. 30.

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Americans Hoisting Hardcourt Trophies

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:54:46 +0000

It’s not alway easy writing a blog about American men’s tennis (remember those Wimbledon predictions?) but the past two weeks have produced plenty of fodder, especially this weekend. Sam Querrey wins his fifth title of the year, coming back on no less than Andy Murray. The Bryan brothers set the all time record for doubles titles. And last week Mardy Fish wins in a final against John Isner. Throw your kids’ lacrosse and field hockey sticks away and buy them some tennis rackets. At this pace tennis might become more popular than NASCAR and the X Games. But they’ve got to keep it up through the Open, where if they can make it there, they’ll make it anywhere.

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Hotlanta! U.S. Open Series in a Real Tennis City

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:13:56 +0000

It’s about time the USTA amps up the U.S. Open Series with a real tennis town — Hotlanta. Good to see Atlanta joined by L.A., Washington and San Diego on there too. One day we’ll quit making the ATP tour pass through Indianapolis and Cincinnati, towns known more for farm shows and fast cars than tennis, and Canada, which note to the USTA, is not even part of the U.S. I bet the B level ALTA teams could knock down the top-tier Ohio, Indiana and Canada A teams put together. When is the last time you saw a pro tennis player with the hometown of Cincinnati?

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Young Americans A Long, Long Way from Wimbledon

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:25:09 +0000

Last year, two American juniors bound for the pro circuit — Devin Britton and Jordan Cox — played an epic three-set semifinal in the boys singles. Cox, then 17, won 6-3, 6-7 (5), 16-14, the final set lasting 83 minutes (which in the pre-Isner/Mahut days seemed liked a long time). Cox lost in the finals (pictured with the runner-up plate here), and soon after both he and Britton, then 18 and fresh off an NCAA singles championship, turned pro. Britton wrote a blog from Wimbledon for the USTA , and later in the summer received a U.S. Open wild card bid and played Federer in the first round.

As of today, Cox is ranked 597 in the world and Britton is 1119. Britton, who last played a tournament in Indonesia in June, has won $6,622 in prize money this year. Cox played a series of tournaments in South Africa in May (losing three first round matches in a row) before heading to a tournament Japan in June. His take for the year is $3,396.

The common wiseass sports talk radio caller might poke fun at them, but these dudes are working hard and chasing ranking points all over the globe. The talent in men’s tennis is deep, and making it to the Grand Slams is a hard row to hoe. Good luck out there, fellas, and hope to see you in Wimbledon some year soon.

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John Isner Stands Tall in Wimbledon’s Longest Match

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:08:08 +0000

6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68.

Epic. Unbelievable. Amazing. Classy. Gracious.

Aces 112 to 103.

Eleven hours, five minutes.

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A Classic Blog Post for a Classic Match

Joe Samuel Starnes — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:40:31 +0000

Below is a selection from Xan Brooks’ live blogon the guardian.co.uk page. Never has a live blog been so spontaneously brilliant, so fun to read:

9.25pm: Last thoughts before I ring me a hearse. That was beyond tennis. I think it was even beyond survival, because there is a strong suggestion (soon to be confirmed by doctors) that John Isner actually expired at about the 20-20 mark, and Mahut went soon afterwards, and the remainder of the match was contested by Undead Zombies who ate the spectators during the change of ends (again, this is pending a police investigation).

Still, if you’re going to watch a pair of zombies go at each other for eleventy-billion hours, far into the night, it might as well be these zombies. They were incredible, astonishing, indefatigable. They fell over frequently but they never stayed down. My hat goes off to these zombies. Possibly my head goes off to them too.

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