US Open Day 8: Happy Labor Day!

Curtain Call

Player: Petra Kvitova

Nation:Czech Republic

Age: 19

Current Ranking: #72

Notable Conquests: Alisa Kleybanova (Russia), 27th seed and Dinara Safina (Russia), 1st seed.

Tour Page: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Info/0,,12781~13403,00.html

Today's Match: loss to Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) in three sets, 7-5 in the third

Taking out the top seed would really have been enough to have called the US Open a success for Kvitova. But she also took out another seeded Russian and has improved significantly on last year's first round result. Her ranking took a hit earlier this year when she missed the French Open. This will help her get back up the rankings.

It's Labor Day here in the States, always a great day to watch tennis. Labor Day is usually (always?) a part of the Open's middle weekend and it feels like I'm playing hooky by watching. I spent the afternoon with Oudin and Petrova then the early evening with a spatchcock chicken and a Weber grill.

Football (American style) is in the air. My fantasy league, the first I have ever joined, is holding its draft on Wednesday night. In a facebook thread, my wife suggested to my soon-to-be competitors that I was planning to fill my NFL squad with tennis players. I could only wonder what that particular dream team would look like...

One must first acknowledge that few tennis players have appropriate football physiques. I would have to go with Federer at QB: calm, cool, collected in the pocket and the ball always seems to go exactly where he wants it. Nadal and Serena Williams would be the bruising RBs out of the backfield. Venus Williams at wide receiver along with Gael Monfils perhaps? I like del Potro for tight end but my man Jesse Witten is a tempting choice. He'd be a good late round pick as a backup, I suppose. Kicker? I'm going with Marcos Daniel. If there's a ball to be kicked and there's a Brazilian on the board, I'd say it's a no-brainer.

Back to work tomorrow...

US Open Day 7: A Glimpse of the Future

Curtain Call

Player: Francesca Schiavone

Nation: Italy

Age: 29

Current Ranking: #28

Notable Conquest: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), 8th seed

Tour Page: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Info/0,,12781~7820,00.html

Today's Match: loss to Na Li (China) in straight sets

Tough loss today but Schiavone deserves high praise for taking out Azarenka. Over the course of her career, she has had more success in doubles than in singles but this singles result is a big improvement on last year's second round finish.

The junior tournament began today. The Boys' Singles competition has been a part of the US Open since 1973. The Girls' Singles has been going since 1974. The junior tournament is for players under the age of 18. Players must have permission from a parent/guardian to participate. No prize money is involved. Success in the junior ranks is no guarantee of a great professional career but a few have done well on the senior tour. The last US Open Boys' Singles champion to later win the Men's Singles title was Andy Roddick who won the juniors in 2000 and the seniors in 2003. It's been longer for the women with Lindsay Davenport the last to do it. She won the junior title in 1992 and the senior title in 1998.

The top seed for the boys is Yuki Bhambri of India. The top seed for the girls WAS Kristina Mladenovic of France but she has already lost her first match. Don't feel too bad for her. She's only 16. She'll be back.

US Open Day 6: A Creamsicle Has His Day

Curtain Call

Player: Jesse Witten

Nation: USA

Age: 26

Current Ranking: #276

Notable Conquest: Igor Andreev (Russia), 29th seed

Tour Page: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Wi/J/Jesse-Witten.aspx

Today's Match: loss to Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in four sets

Jesse Witten is the man! I love this guy. Sign me up for the fan club. He looks like a guy who just got up off the couch and picked up a racquet - certainly more at home on a football field than a tennis court. But here he is, just having played the tournament of his life. He'd never won an ATP-level match before this week and nearly walked away from the sport earlier this year. And make no mistake, he made the Djoker earn it today. Hats off!

I feel we must discuss Djokovic's shirt today. Now, full disclosure, I am never a big fan of orange. I feel it is the one color that looks terrible on just about everyone. But he really looked like a Creamsicle. The streaks of red could potentially suggest something a bit more dignified: a nectarine, perhaps. But they also made him look like he was bleeding. Complete disaster in my book. I know these folks get paid ridiculous amounts to wear whatever their sponsor tells them to wear so I'm sure Novak's crying all the way to the bank but I'd be on the phone begging for something else.

Gotta get ready for the gaggle of girls coming for my daughter's birthday party. Tennis will have to wait until later.

US Open Day 5: Climbing Rung by Rung

Curtain Call

Player: Aleksandra Wozniak

Nation: Canada

Age: 21

Current Ranking: #39

Notable Conquest: Amelie Mauresmo (France), 17th seed

Tour Page: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Info/0,,12781~9813,00.html

Today's Match: loss to Flavia Pennetta (Italy) in straight sets: 6-1, 6-1

There's no denying it. Ms. Wozniak got tuned today by the 10th seeded Pennetta. But there's also no denying she had a successful tournament overall. In round 2, she took out Mauresmo, a player who, I will grant you, is a shadow of her former self. But she's still a seed and taking out a higher ranked player is always good.

And with her third round finish, Wozniak is likely to be a seed herself in Slams to come. To improve one's ranking points, a player must better the previous year's performance in a given week. Last year, Wozniak lost in the first round of the US Open. First to third may not seem like much but if it's enough to propel her into the top 32 in time for the Australian Open, it could mean a seed in Melbourne.

Wozniak is currently the highest ranked Canadian singles player. She is young, turning 22 on Sunday. Perhaps today's undoubtedly brutal loss will motivate her in future tournaments.

By my count, there are seven matches tomorrow pitting seeded players against one another. Sounds like a great day on the grounds to me!

US Open Day 4: A Cavalier Performance

Curtain Call

Player: Somdev Devvarman

Nation: India

Age: 24

Current Ranking: #162

Tour Page: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/De/S/Somdev-K-Devvarman.aspx

Today's Match: loss to Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) in 4 sets

Devvarman is another qualifier playing in his first ever Slam tournament. He won his first round match and fell in the second round to the 23rd seeded Kohlschreiber. He is a former two-time NCAA singles champion at the University of Virginia and the first Indian male to play in the singles draw of a Slam since 2002.

The third round begins in the women's singles tournament tomorrow. The third round is a magical moment in a Slam as it is the round when the seeds begin to play each other. There used to be 16 seeds in the Slams which would protect them from playing one another before the fourth round but now, with 32, it happens one round earlier.

Unfortunately, there are only two matches tomorrow which pit seeds against each other. Amazingly to me, one of them isn't even on a show court. Vera Avonareva (Russia, 7th seed) vs. Elena Vesnina (Russia, 31st seed) has been relegated to Court 13, still a TV court though for the folks back in Moscow.

US Open Day 3: Is It Really Such a Sin to Lose?

Curtain Call

Player: Kai-Chen Chang

Nation: Chinese Taipei

Age: 18

Current Ranking: #212

Notable Conquests: Kaia Kanepi (Estonia), 25th seed

Tour Page: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Stats/0,,12781~13135,00.html

Today's Match: loss to Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) in 3 sets, 6-2 in the third

Big tournament for this young woman. Kai-Chen Chang went through qualifying to reach her first ever Grand Slam tournament. Then, in the first round, her first ever Grand Slam match, she takes out a seed. Very impressive!

Did anyone else watch the Sam Querrey/Michael Yani match on the Mix Channel yesterday? It was a perfect demonstration of what drives me nuts about tennis commentary, especially in the early rounds. To be fair, Michael Yani hardly played the match of his life but can you blame him? Here's a veteran player in a rare Grand Slam opportunity facing a seeded opponent in a televised match. Not to mention the fact that he's playing the match at Louis Armstrong which used to be the main show court at the U.S. Open. It's stinkin' huge! And yet, if we are to believe the on-air commentary, we should be appalled by his presumption of even showing up for the match.

I hate to generalize here because not all of the folks on the tube do this but so many seem to regard the lower-ranked players with such disdain. But I actually had to turn the sound off it was so awful. It is why I have chosen to approach the story of the Slam from the angle I have. In either singles draw, one player will be crowned champion while 127 others will go home having lost their last match. It's not as if all of those 127 others will have had horrible tournaments. Quite the contrary, for some just playing in this one tournament will represent the high point of a career, a story they can tell for the rest of their lives. Who are we to be so dismissive?

I am grateful for the expanded coverage. The Mix Channel is nothing short of a life quality improvement in my mind. But boy, I'd love to be able to push a button that would mute the commentary while still allowing us to hear the sounds of the match. Surely, the technology must exist.

US Open Day 2: Double the Fun

Curtain Call

Player: Monique Adamczak

Nation: Australia

Age: 26

Current Ranking: #164

Tour Page: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Info/0,,12781~291,00.html

Today's Match: loss to Alize Cornet (France) in 3 sets, 7-5 in the third

Adamczak is another qualifier making her first career appearance in the US Open. She fought tough in her first round match. Bravo!

The men's doubles tournament began today with the women's and mixed doubles beginning tomorrow. I'm a big fan of doubles and wish that it would get more air time. With four people on the court, it's almost like an entirely different sport, at least from the spectator perspective. The ball seems to fly around a lot faster and at really funny angles, sort of like a human pinball machine. There is a lot more play at the net than in singles, which is always fun, particularly when all four are up there exchanging volleys. It always takes me a minute to get used to the change in sidelines but it's good to stretch the brain a bit. One wonderful argument I've heard for expanded doubles coverage is the fact that most recreational players play doubles rather than singles.

The Tennis Channel has made an effort to include doubles in its coverage of tournaments and if you are fortunate enough to have DirecTV, the Mix Channel shows more doubles as the week moves along. Unfortunately, doubles will essentially disappear from the TV in the second week, just when the top teams start to face off against each other.

To a point, I can understand the problem from a marketing perspective. Not all doubles partners are steady dates, as it were, so establishing a rooting interest is complicated. Partners are also rarely from the same country which may also make it difficult for fans to gain a foothold. On the other hand, the relationships between partners are occasionally soap opera-worthy as they were a couple years ago when longtime pals Daniel Nestor and Mark Knowles announced their split and then won the French Open together. Davis Cup, for all its myriad flaws, does pretty well by doubles, integrating it as a meaningful part of the whole. It is a little sad that it's so difficult to catch a glimpse at the Slams.

What the heck, my picks to win:

Men - Mahesh Bhupati (India) and Mark Knowles (Bahamas)

Women - Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) and Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain)

Mixed - Lisa Raymond (USA) and Marcin Matkowski (Poland)