Top Spin Blog

Does Djokovic Have a Deal With the Devil?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:49:10 +0000

I never thought Novak Djokovic would get out of that fifth set of the Australian Open final alive. Between that and coming back from match point against Federer at last year’s U.S. Open, I now wonder if he’s made any deals more significant than a shoe and racket contract — such as selling his soul.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:12:45 +0000

She’s bigger than the rackets and much more mobile than she was in last year’s picture.

Even the Rich Battle the Shadows: Tennis at Hearst Castle William Randolph Hearst’s home in San Simeon, California, once...

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Even the Rich Battle the Shadows: Tennis at Hearst Castle

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:50:13 +0000

William Randolph Hearst’s home in San Simeon, California, once the site of many star-studded tennis matches, is as close as America has to a great castle. But on that court even the very rich and famous had to deal with late afternoon shadows that make the ball hard to see. Fall Line, my second novel, is out this month so I’m taking a hiatus from this blog, and thought this made for a good on vacation picture. Will be back on here in January, when the Australian Open rolls around.(Photo taken at Hearst Castle summer 2003.)

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Two, Count’em, Two American Men in U.S. Open Quarters

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:53:21 +0000

It’s been quite a long time since two American men have reached the quarters of a Grand Slam. And good to see that Roddick broke the streak of Spanish wins over American players. Now he just has to keep it going against Nadal, but I think he has a good shot on the hard courts. As does Isner with Murray. On to the semis, gentlemen!

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Dear CBS and ESPN: An Open Letter on the U.S. Open

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:16:58 +0000

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a letter from my parents. They have been watching a lot of the U.S. Open.

To the producers and directors of CBS & ESPN tennis productions:

You have some of the worst announcers in sports.

I have a son who was a junior tennis player when McEnroe was beginning his career. I saw hundreds of junior tennis players who copied McEnroe’s horrible behavior — screaming, ranting, raving, cursing, acting like an out-of-control person. He had a negative influence on thousands of junior players. I have complained to the officials at many tournaments because of the behavior of junior players — behavior that McEnroe displayed for years on worldwide TV.

And now McEnroe is a spokesman for tennis. His tennis commentaries should be renamed the “McEnroe Autobiography Show.” He babbles on about matches he played thirty years ago while ignoring the current matches. He thinks he is the only person who ever played the game. Chris Fowler and Mary Carillo are just as bad. They talk about things unrelated to ongoing matches.

Jim Courier, Darren Cahill, Bill Macatee and Cliff Drysdale are very good.

You should trash McEnroe and Carillo.

Eddie and Jo Anne Starnes, Cedartown, Georgia

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USTA’s 10 and Under Tennis Nothing New

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:52:11 +0000

If you’ve watched 15 minutes of the U.S. Open by now, you’ve probably seen one of the USTA’s ads about its 10 and under tennis program. Is this concept really that new? Perhaps it is in the days of graphite rackets that can’t be sawed off like my first wooden racket (a Jack Kramer), but small rackets and lowered nets have been around a long while.

The unspoken implication in the USTA campaign is that American professional tennis is weak because the rackets, balls and courts are too big for American kids. That’s not the problem. The problem is that for whatever reason, tennis is no longer considered very cool or an important part of American culture, much like it was in the seventies when I was starting out (pictured here at age 7 in 1974 with my mother, pregnant with my brother at the time).

Spain, France, Serbia, Argentina and Russia aren’t dominating the pro ranks because they have lots of miniature courts and pint-sized equipment for kids; they are dominant because in those countries, tennis is appealing, like it was here thirty to forty years ago.

Of course, just maybe this program will work, and American kids will enjoy the game and tennis will be cool again. Encouraging kids to play is a great cause and I hope it’s wildly successful — just quit blaming the tools. What’s needed is the desire to hit the ball, not custom-made equipment. Connors, McEnroe and Sampras grew up on rackets like war clubs — there is no reason a new generation of young American players today can’t do the same.

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U.S. versus Spain: 0-9

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:11:55 +0000

Zero to nine. The number says it all. That is the record of American men versus Spanish men in singles during Wimbledon and the recent Davis Cup meeting.

For some well-chosen but dismal descriptions of the state of the American team, check out Jonathan Scott on Tennis.com who concludes his article “U.S. Davis Cup Team Walks the Plank” this way: “Down for the count. Dead in the water. Another sad metaphor for those matches.”

Perhaps we should have seen this coming when Patrick McEnroe decided to step down.

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Bryan Time!

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 04:44:11 +0000

Spain, meet the greatest doubles team of all time (and recent Wimbeldon doubles champs.)

U.S. Davis Cup: Roddick, Isner, Bryan & Bryan In his first official order of business, U.S. Davis Cup...
U.S. versus Spain: 0-9 Zero to nine. The number says it all. That is...

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See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:13:25 +0000

With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American men completed a dismal 0-6 record in singles on the grass against Spanish players over the Wimbledon fortnight (fortnight being one of those words you only hear once a year when Wimbledon rolls around). Not exactly the confidence boost captain Jim Courier wanted going into the U.S. versus Spain Davis Cup quarterfinal starting July 8. But the American team has four things going for it:

The match is indoors, on a hard, fast court where the ball takes an honest bounce. No more of this muddled European soil.

Doubles is a critical point, and we have the number one team in the world, the Bryan brothers. By they way, they are in the semis and going for the win. (Someone should point this out to ESPN’s resident airhead Chris Fowler who endlessly recites the inaccuracy that there is only “one American man left in the draw.” )

The U.S. has never lost to Spain in the states, and holds a 5-4 record dating back to 1965. Roddick’s hometown crowd will give the U.S. team a boost. Texans know how to whoop it up.

And the big one — Rafael Nadal is taking the week off. However, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez (who beat Roddick in the third round of Wimbledon), and Fernando Verdasco (whom Roddick beat in a Wimledon warmup) are coming and will make for tough competition. Roddick and Fish, fresh off some big wins, will make up the U.S. team with the Bryans. Lineups were announced earlier this week. It’s too bad that Nadal won’t be there, but that’s par for the course in Davis Cup, where the real superstars often sit out.

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Nadal To Skip Davis Cup in Texas

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:18:55 +0000

This shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed Davis Cup for more than 20 minutes. From the Austin-American Statesman. Related posts:See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American...Davis Cup in Roddick’s Hometown: Austin The U.S. Davis [...] Related posts:

See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American...
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