Schadenfreude: USA Network Coverage of US Open During Rain Delays

[Evil Captor]

It's been raining for four solid days at the US Open and things are getting pretty desperate -- so desperate that rebroadcasts of matches from previous years interspersed with shots of wet tennis courts isn't doing it.

How desperate is it? Well, I've seen one announcer sitting in the bleachers trying to get the few fans around him to shift their eyes left and right as if they were watching a match. I've seen extensive coverage of John McEnroe lobbing balls into the grandstands from the court. And there's been the "Mac Phone" where John McEnroe takes calls from tennis fans about whatever is on their minds, which is typically ... not a hell of a lot.

But the best part of all is the desperate, fixed grins of the announcers as they stare at the camera and think ... I got nothin' here! Nothin! Oh, GOD when is the next commercial break?"

I guess this OP is misnamed, I'm not really ashamed at my pleasure in the desperation of the USA Network crew, I'm just kinda enjoying it.

[Stephe96]

Why the hell doesn't the USTA build a retractable roof on the main stadiums?

[Gatopescado]

Sounds about as exciting as if they were actually showing tennis.

Sorry. I'm not a tennis fan.

____________
How is Rap like Porn? Both are better with the sound turned off.

[widdershins]

Maybe USA could get the announcers to call episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger and Nash Bridges. Johnny Mac screaming, "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! WHAT, ARE YOU BLIND!" during the bland plot twists and badly choreographed fights and shootouts.

Kind of a MST3K on the fly with a tennis brat spin.

[HumanStromboli]

I caught some of the Connors-Krickstein match from '91 when Connors continually yelled "You are an abortion" at the chair umpire for missing a call. Good times . . .

Seriously, it's not like I tune into USA 24/7 for the Open, but truth be told, I sort of prefer watching the older matches. You could at least discern a semblance of strategy---as opposed to (a) Really Hard Serve; (b) Other Guy is Caught Off Guard and Can't Return It; (c) Rinse and Repeat.

I simplify some, of course, but I find the older, Pat Summerall-announced matches much more fun---even if I vaguely recall who actually won.

[quasar]

Play in the rain, you pussies! :D

Cheers,

quasar

[Sam Stone]

Seriously, it's not like I tune into USA 24/7 for the Open, but truth be told, I sort of prefer watching the older matches. You could at least discern a semblance of strategy---as opposed to (a) Really Hard Serve; (b) Other Guy is Caught Off Guard and Can't Return It; (c) Rinse and Repeat.


This is an acknowledged problem in men's tennis. The sanctioning bodies screwed up and allowed too much technology into the game. The big headed composite rackets just allow too much ball speed, turning the game into a blasting match rather than a game of finesse and strategy as it was intended to be.

Back when Connors, Borg, and McEnroe played, the game was fascinating. You could look forward to matches because a serve-and-volley player was going up against a baseline player and having to adjust his strategy, and vice versa. Or you'd get a couple of serve and volley players, and see some incredible twitch-response action at the net as they tried to get past each other.

Back then, I looked forward to Wimbledon for weeks. People talked about tennis around the water cooler at work. The top players had character, and were everyday names.

Now, it seems they're all a bunch of hard-serving robots with steely determination. Agassi is the last player I can remember who has some style and flash. Maybe there are some others - I don't watch tennis anymore.

[Marley23]

Why the hell doesn't the USTA build a retractable roof on the main stadiums?
Because they're idiots, apparently. McEnroe has been ripping them for this (Martina Navratilova, too, and I'm sure they're not alone). They spent a quarter of a billion dollars on the new stadium, and it's a very good one. But 15 minutes of drizzle can stop play for hours because there's no roof, no tarps for the courts, and it takes forever to dry them.

I caught some of the Connors-Krickstein match from '91 when Connors continually yelled "You are an abortion" at the chair umpire for missing a call. Good times . . .
I'd seen bits of the match before, and I knew Connors' reputation, but until the other day, I didn't realize he yelled that. Wow. Amazing people were rooting for this guy. What a jerk.

Now, it seems they're all a bunch of hard-serving robots with steely determination. Agassi is the last player I can remember who has some style and flash. Maybe there are some others - I don't watch tennis anymore.
Most of them do hit pretty damn hard - although check out Schalken, who made the semis last year and is in the quarters now. His serve barely breaks 100. But there are plenty of players with flash. I'm a big fan of Max Mirnyi (6'5" serve-and-volleying monster). Younes El Aynaoui has a lot of personality. Roger Federer is an artiste. Agassi's still my guy, though.

[green_bladder]

That Connors match was great, real class. In fact, I'm hoping it'll continue to rain so that they can broadcast more of the older matches. All the players back then seemed to have more of an all-court game (a bit like Federer now); they would play at the baseline during the French and serve and volley at Wimbledon (Bjorn Borg - 5 Wimbledons, 6 French Opens). Tennis now seems so specialised.

Regarding the roof: although building a retractable roof may be out of the question at this point, they should consider at least having covers for all the courts so they don't have to waste so much time soaking up and drying the courts. It'll be a lot more cost-effective.

Marley23, I too am a fan of 'The Beast' (Mirnyi). I seriously hope he considers playing more singles matches. He's got the talent to win a bunch of titles.

[Marley23]

Yeah, green. Even if a roof would be too much to ask, you'd think a couple of *tarps* wouldn't be such an issue. At Wimbledon, they can cover the court in ten seconds. I'm not sure that'd solve the problem, but you'd think it couldn't hurt.

Mirnyi is actually up to #18 in the world in singles now, and he won his first title this year. They say serve-and-volleyers take longer to mature, and - although he unfortunately lost in the first round at the Open - I think he's ready. :) He's also the #1 doubles player. I was fortunate enough to see him and Bhupathi in person last week, took a bunch of pictures and things. Awesome stuff.

[pulykamell]

Originally posted by HumanStromboli
I caught some of the Connors-Krickstein match from '91 when Connors continually yelled "You are an abortion" at the chair umpire for missing a call. Good times . . .


Yeah, I caught that, too, on Eurosport. I forgot how much of a jackass Connors was. The linesman was right; the ball was clearly out and Connors was whining about the head umpire not overruling the linesman (as the head umpire had once earlier in the match.) I rooted for Krickstein for the rest of match (not remember how it ended.) Then again, Connors winning on his 39th birthday was pretty cool, in a way.

I miss MacEnroe. He might have been a whiny little brat, but there was just something more entertaining and adolescent about it that made it much more fun to watch than Connors.

[Evil Captor]

The dominance of serve-and-serve-again play in the men's game is why I much prefer to watch women's matches. The women's game still has an element of strategy to it, the men's game is boring to watch. It's so pathetic to hear the announcers gee-whizzing about how fast that last serve was -- 138 mph! Wow! Really, I don't give a rat's ass how fast the serve was, it's boring to watch such matches.

Along the same lines, I don't like to watch the Williams sisters play for the same reason. Venus Williams has a 125 mph serve. Very few women's players can return it. Talk about dull.

[HumanStromboli]

Originally posted by Marley23
Most of them do hit pretty damn hard - although check out Schalken, who made the semis last year and is in the quarters now. His serve barely breaks 100.

Somehow watching a Schalken match always makes me feel better about myself. :)

But there are plenty of players with flash. I'm a big fan of Max Mirnyi (6'5" serve-and-volleying monster). Younes El Aynaoui has a lot of personality. Roger Federer is an artiste. Agassi's still my guy, though.

I was always a Sampras guy, although that's probably because of pride in a shared ethnicity. I've grown to admire Agassi.

Federer is a beautiful player. I could watch him play all day (well, for a while at least . . .). El Aynaoui's got a wonderful forehand.

Anyway, there's always worthwhile players to watch, but the overwhelming style of play turns me off. As someone else mentioned, women's tennis is just better tennis to watch.

[PunditLisa]

Random musings about the U.S. Open:

Yup, a few tarps would be dandy. Home Depot has them. I'd be willing to pitch in 30 bucks to sponsor Court #12's tarp. Maybe in between all the old matches Mac can take pledges for the other courts. "This is a matching pledge hour, so call in with your best pledge to cover Arthur Ashe."

Dear lord, the outfits are unbelievably unattractive these days. Capriati looks like a chunky monkey in her tight outfits. She should have been wearing the "Dunkin Donuts" sign on her shirt. Even darling Justine Hennin-Hardin's skirts are ill-fitting because they always ride up on her thighs.

And the men. Watching Conners/Krickstein made me yearn for the days when you could actually see a guys' thigh and ass. Tennis and soccer players have the best thighs and asses. Now the outfits are so baggy on the men that you get zero eye candy. And that new fabric makes me cringe when it gets wet with sweat. It just hangs and looks like it weighs 20 pounds.

Can't we just go back to cotton with tucked-in shirts?

I always thought it was LOU-EEE Armstrong, not LEW-IS Armstrong. What do I know?

El Anayoui is darling. I saw him on one of the smaller courts when they played in Cincinnati and was so cute. Plus he stuck around and signed all the autographs.

Watching the '01 match between Hewitt and Roddick made me wonder once again what's eating Hewitt. He has so much potential.

Did anyone catch the Ilia Nastassi match? Man, talk about GRUMPY. I thought it was going to turn into fisticuffs.

Is Jennifer Capriati related to Tyne Daly? Same mouth, same dark complexion, same slant to their eyebrows...

I appreciate Martina Navratilova so much more now than I used to. She and Ivan Lendl paid the price for being stoic. No fan support.

Wish they'd play some old Bjorn Borg/Johnny Mac matches. Did they not play any good matches except at Wimbledon?

I agree with Mac that they ought to do away with lets and go back to less powerful racquets.

FWIW, my money is on Hennin-Hardin for the women and Roddick for the men. I know, I know, I'm going on a limb here.

[Marley23]

Watching the '01 match between Hewitt and Roddick made me wonder once again what's eating Hewitt. He has so much potential.
His lawsuit against the ATP probably isn't helping. It's weird, given how hard he competed prior to this year, that he doesn't seem to be all there. But he's doing fine so far, and I wouldn't be very surprised if he beat Ferrero.

I appreciate Martina Navratilova so much more now than I used to. She and Ivan Lendl paid the price for being stoic. No fan support.
Well, they sure do love her now. I saw her play a couple of rounds ago, and the fans were just going nuts for everything she did (this has apparently been happening in all of her matches). Totally deserved, as she was the best player on the court and made any number of outstanding plays that showed her expertise. 46 years old and looks like she can beat the best, wow.

[Balle_M]

Originally posted by gatopescado
Sounds about as exciting as if they were actually showing tennis.

Sorry. I'm not a tennis fan.

____________
How is Rap like Porn? Both are better with the sound turned off.


Could be worse...it could be soccer.

[Marley23]

I hope I wasn't the only one watching Capriati vs. Henin-Hardenne tonight. This one was pure freudenfreude. ;) Can't remember the last time I saw a three-hour women's match, and this match had everything - comeback after comeback, great rallies, second-, third- and fourth-winds, and a final-set tiebreak. My hat is off to the players in that one.

Actually, I thought it was a fantastic day of tennis - all four men's quarters and the ladies's semis, tasty! Should be a great final two days.

[green_bladder]

You weren't alone. :D
I thought Capriati was gonna take it - but what a freakin' comeback. This will turn out to be quite a final and I think Kim will finally win her first slam.

Ferrero vs. Hewitt: who wudda thunkit? I think in order for Hewitt to get in his groove, he needs to play a lot of matches; when he announced earlier in the season that he was gonna cut back on his court-time, I knew he was going to flounder. Either that, or he's genuinely out of gas and runnin' on steam... or it could've been that hip problem.

It should be an interesting weekend, though.

Btw Nalbandian is better than I thought

[Marley23]

I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Nalbandian is also better than I thought, green_bladder. Hewitt just demolished him at Wimbledon last year, and even though making the finals in his first tournament on grass was impressive, I hadn't given him much thought since. (I love Wimbledon, but it's produced its share of flukey results.) Knew he was 4 and 0 against Federer, but I figured "Roger's a grand slam champ now, he'll probably get him this time." Nope. He really has Federer's number. I wish El Aynaoui had been 100% today - he nearly pulled off a comback anyway - but there's no doubting now that Nalbandian is for real. He may get some Slam wins, but I don't think this is his year. I think we're gonna get the all-American final so many of us have been salivating over. :)

You're right about Hewitt, too. What a lousy year. He was number one for a solid year and a half, but couldn't do anything in his home tournament, and got embarrassed at Wimbledon... who'd have thought the quarters would be his best result? He hasn't won since March, and the only time he even came close, he lost to Wayne Ferreira?
I can't see him being washed up so young. I don't like the guy, but I figure he'll have the (semi-)offseason to pull it together. Gotta respect the fire he displays, and his shotmaking was amazing at times.

Some people are weeping for the future of tennis, but this year has seen the coming out of a number of real young talents. This summer alone...

Roddick: justified the hype. He's had one of the best hard-court seasons ever, won four titles and 27 of his last 28 matches.

Federer: showed he's almost perfect at his best. Scary good.

Nalbandian: people are going to take notice this time, I think. Especially if he puts up a good showing tomorrow.

Coria: has been white-hot (3 titles in a row on clay, but he looks like he can play on anything), and DAMN is he fast!

Ferrero: won the French and is showing he is an all-court player.
And I'm just waiting for Mirnyi (26) to join them. :)

[green_bladder]

I think Coria was the major surprise; no one knew him prior to this season (well, there was all that drug nonsense) and he just dominated the clay-court season.

But what happened to Mirnyi/Bhupathi? 2-6, 2-6? Man, that was a whippin'. ;)

[Marley23]

I have no idea what happened to Max and Bhupathi. (The announces tend to say it "BOO-put-tee," but I just can't do it. I say "Boo-PATH-ee." Anybody know which is right?) Yipes.

Coria really is exciting. I was happy Agassi got out of it in three sets- pleasantly surprised, actually, even though I figured Andre could take him on a hard court. He's tiny and doesn't serve hard, but he's got all the shots beyond that.

[green_bladder]

The former would be correct: 'Boo-putt-ee'. I just don't think they could get a rhythm going in the match; and when someone has trouble breaking Fabrice Santoro's serve then you know something's not right.

[Marley23]

Hah. I think this'll be one of those rare times when I'm wrong because the right answer is too damn silly. My mom and I have called him "Betty Bhupathi" too many times... :p

[PunditLisa]

The Capriati/Hennin semi was incredible. I thought Hennin had the first set in the bag and next thing you know Capriati makes this incredible comeback. Reverse in the 3rd set. Incredible tennis. Capriati definitely had an "on" night and it was great to see her play up to her potential....if she could only conquer those demons that plague her when she is serving for the match. She could have had it wrapped up in the second set. Arrgh!

Hewitt and Capriati should hire sports psychologists because they have so much potential and they are their own worst enemies. You can just feel their frustration.

I thought Davenport was going to give Clijsters a run for her money. But the real Lindsey was a no-show. What a shame. A Capriati/Clijsters final would have been great to watch.

I am still hoping for Hennin to pull off a victory over Clijsters but the latter looked so strong last night I'm not so confident anymore. Was Clijsters just that good or was Davenport just so bad last night?

BTW, did anyone else notice how the male commentator (not Johnny Mac, the other dude) said, "And in the crowd is Jay-Z and..." and then he completely stops because he has absolutely NO IDEA how to pronounce "Beyonce." ;)

[green_bladder]

Originally posted by PunditLisa
Was Clijsters just that good or was Davenport just so bad last night?

I'd say Clijsters is just that good. Davenport seems to be slowing down a bit with all those foot injuries and I don't think she can keep up with the Belgians. She would've beaten them easily a couple of years back, but not now. It's unfortunate that Clijsters hasn't won a slam yet, but I think she'll take this one. With Serena out, she's dominating the women's game and this is long overdue.

BTW, did anyone else notice how the male commentator (not Johnny Mac, the other dude) said, "And in the crowd is Jay-Z and..." and then he completely stops because he has absolutely NO IDEA how to pronounce "Beyonce." ;)

I don't blame him.. up until about two months ago I thought her name was "Benoyce." ;)

[Marley23]

Clijsters is that good. It's weird how in the women's game, the top three or four players usually just beat the crap out of the rest of the top 20. There's a serious gap there. Serena, Clijsters and Henin (and Venus, sometimes) compete with each other, but nobody seems able to compete with them very often. Looks at the way Clijsters creamed Davenport and Mauresmo, and how Henin destroyed Myskina in the past few days. Capriati was great, but she should've won. She's choked away a lot of big matches like this and never beats those best few players. I think they said last night that she hasn't actually won against a Top Ten player since Australia in 2002.

[amanset]

Be thankful you don't have Cliff Richard singing unaccompanied to the "delight" of the crowd.

[green_bladder]

Oh, man. That's another prediction gone down the drain. Anyone else think that Clijsters wasn't playing her best? I was willing to wager on a Clijsters victory ;)

[Marley23]

Vive Justine!! Wow. Before the match, and in the latter parts of the first set, it didn't look like she had it in her. There isn't a player out there who can match her competitiveness, and she has such a complete game. What a wonderful thing to watch. She was one of my favorite players before, but this takes things to a new level. She finished her semifinal a few minutes after midnight and won the championship at around 9:30 p.m. The most Super Saturday ever for one player, I'm sure.

On the other hand, world #1 Clijsters is now 0/3 in Slam finals, and this one was a really good opportunity for her, facing an opponent who earlier in the day said she might not even be able to play. And she really had her chances, too. Almost ran away with the first set after coming back from 0-3 down, then lost it and never got things back together. I'm starting to wonder if Clijsters is Flemish for "choke."

[Marley23]

green, like I said, I was pulling for Henin-Hardenne - she's my favorite player outside of Serena, and the last 24 hours may have put her over the top - but until the match started, I was doubtful she could come bounce back. But I've said in other threads that it seems like Clijsters always finds a way to lose the really big matches, and even though she really got her groove going in the middle of the first set (from about the fourth game through the ninth), she did it again tonight. She may break through yet; she certainly has the ability. But she's just not there mentally when she needs to be.

[green_bladder]

Yeah Henin has arguably the most complete game in women's tennis. Power, great technique - and the best backhand! All at what, 5'3", 5'4"?

That was Clijsters' best chance so far and she did choke. With the way she was playing leading up to the final (I don't think she even lost a set) she was the favourite but lost it completely. And with the Williams sisters returning soon, these opportunities might turn out to be few and far between.

How about them men's semis? I was unable to watch the Roddick-Nalbandian one but I checked the results this morning..and wow.

[Marley23]

They said last night that Henin is 5'5 1/2"; the WTA website says 5'5 3/4." ;) She needs every quarter-inch. ;) I don't think anybody else is as complete... who else would you put up there?

You're right that Clijsters hadn't lost a set until the final. The tightest match she had was 6-2, 6-4 against Shaughnessy in the third round. :p Hence my comment a few posts ago about the gap between the top few women and everyone else.

I was in pain after the Agassi match, and it was even worse when Roddick came out, guns blazing (9 aces in his first 3 games) and still couldn't win the important points. He really looked finished. But he kept going, fought off a match point in the set 3 tiebreak, and didn't quit. It was a testy match, too, they sniped at each other and the umpire a bit. Tomorrow should be interesting... Roddick will need more great serving and 100% of his energy to beat Ferrero. He seems like the kind of guy you can't beat with just power. It'd be pretty interesting if both French Open champs also won the US Open.

[green_bladder]

Originally posted by Marley23
They said last night that Henin is 5'5 1/2"; the WTA website says 5'5 3/4." ;) She needs every quarter-inch. ;) I don't think anybody else is as complete... who else would you put up there?

You know, I could've sworn that just a few months ago Roddick was listed at 6'1", but he's now 6'2" on atptennis.com. The bugger's still growin'!

I'll try and catch the replay of the Rod-Nal match, it seemed just too good. It would be really interesting if both French Open champs won the US, and I think that has a fair chance of happening. But Roddick has the pressure on him to win the final, just as Ferrero had at the French. It's gonna be such a good match, but it's hard to predict who will come out on top. Andy had trouble with Nalbandian and Ferrero plays a very similar game to Nalbandy. But if I had to pick one, I'll pick Andy in five sets, or four really tight ones.

[Marley23]

If Roddick's power can rattle Ferrero, or if the four matches in four days catches up to him (didn't seem to against Andre, but that was a tough match itself), he's got a chance. Then again, Roddick had to work very hard today, and Ferrero covers the court amazingly well and was hitting winners from everywhere. This seems like the kinda match that'll have at least one tiebreak (not least because Roddick's serve is so hard to break, and he's still not much of a returner). I tend to go for the smarter player in big matches, and I think that's Ferrero here.

[Evil Captor]

What's with smart play or guts? Everybody knows the guy with the big serve wins in men's tennis, witness Roddick's victory. What a boring match. The match of the tournament was clearly Capriati-Henin, a match so good it didn't realy matter who won after a point -- people will be watching reruns of this one for years. Capriati's place as a great competitor in tennis history is assured even if she never wins a big one.

By contrast, we had Roddick vs. fillintheblank -- 138 mph serve, change courts, 136 mph serve change courts, 140 mph serve change courts, 129 mph serve, game Roddick. It's a fair win, and I don't blame Roddic for using the big gun to win, but it sure is boring to watch.

[MilTan]

It seems like a lot of people have taken the "big serves dominate and make men's tennis boring" meme a bit too much to heart. Sure Roddick has a huge serve, and when it's clicking, it's absolutely unreturnable.

But that doesn't mean that he can't also play some beautiful tennis. Especially when matched up against a shotmaker like Ferrerro. Granted, the match was a blowout, but once the ball was actually put in play (by either player off the serve), the points were really quite good. And when Roddick started showing off his net game in the third set, I had visions of his winning multiple Wimbledons to go along with his US Opens.

All in all, I think I found this US Open to be eminently enjoyable, surprising since my favorite player (Pistol Pete) has now retired.

[Marley23]

What's with smart play or guts? Everybody knows the guy with the big serve wins in men's tennis, witness Roddick's victory.
Oy vey. Roddick won today because Ferrero was too tired to show up. He did indeed have a great day serving. But let's take a quick look at recent history here.

2003 US Open winner: Roddick. Huge serve.

2003 Wimbledon winner: Federer. Not a huge server at all, and in his last two matches, he beat the two biggest servers (Roddick and Philipoussis).

2003 French Open winner: Ferrero. Not a huge serve.

2003 Australian winner: Agassi. Good placement, great return game. Not a huge server.

2002 US Open winner: Sampras. Big serve, but he had a beautiful net game.

2002 Wimbledon winner: Hewitt. Not a huge serve. He's been trying to serve bigger lately, and I think it's really screwed him up.

2002 French Open winner: Costa. Nope.

2002 Australian Open winner: Johansson. Nope.

Like Miltan, I was surprised that Roddick came to net so much in the third set. I think it'd be great if he added that to his game (and also if he quit returning serve from 10 feet behind the baseline).

[green_bladder]

I thought it was quite a close match actually. I was rooting for Ferrero. Both players served extremely well and that resulted in just two breaks of serve in the match. Ferrero had a real opportunity in the second set tiebreak when he was serving at 2-1 up, but he sent a couple of forehands sailing. That was his best chance, I believe.

No doubt the rallies were good whenever Roddick's serve was put into play, and I still think Ferrero is five times better than Andy from the baseline, but most of the match was typical Roddick stuff, service winner after service winner. It was a nice match, but I enjoyed the women's final more - much more drama.

If Roddick adds a net game to his repertoire then the next three or four Wimbledons are there for the taking. But he'd better hurry up, I wonder how long his shoulder can last whilst Andy continues to serve like he does.

[audiobottle]

When Ferrero came out in his first service game with a big ace, I thought, "Ha! Take that Roddick!" It's not always about the power, but also the placement. Did anybody else hear the guy congratulate Justine by calling her Christine? I expected the whole stadium to go OOOOOOHHHHhhhhh at the same time when he did that.

[audiobottle]

I'd also like to point out that Roddick isn't always about the big power. During the (admittedly few) rallies with Ferrero, he wasn't always just smacking the hell out of the ball. He'd wait until he got a good clean shot on the cross court or down the line and then let loose. He seemed to me to be playing with a bit more finesse than he has in the past, as evidenced by the serve-and-volley tactics others have mentioned.

[Marley23]

Did anybody else hear the guy congratulate Justine by calling her Christine?
I did, and I started cursing at my television. Douchebag. Henin put on one of the all-time great performances, and then her name is botched by this yutz who wouldn't even be at the match if his company wasn't sponsoring it.
The AP article about the final noticed the screwup as well. Justine should've given him a backhand to the mouth.

green_bladder, I agree that Ferrero is much better from the baseline than Roddick is. Big serve or no, I think he could have put up a much better fight if he hadn't had to play three tough matches in a the three days before. I doubt this will be the last US Open final for either guy.

[green_bladder]

You notice how, this year, whoever won a grandslam were expected to do so on that surface.

Agassi was undoubtedly the favourite at this years Aussie Open, and he won it; Ferrero had the pressure on him to finally win the French, which he did; Everyone was hailing Federer to be the next King of SW19 and he lived up to it, in dominating fashion; and finally, everyone including Roddick knew that this was his year to finally win a Grand Slam and he was the heavy favourite going into the Open and he certainly didn't disappoint.

Compare this to the year before: Johansson, Costa, Hewitt and Sampras. Each one pretty much out of the blue.

[Evil Captor]

I'm not dissing Roddick's game when I complain about his big serve, I'm dissing how boring it is to WATCH his game. I don't know how anyone could dispute the notion that it's boring to watch service winner after service winner rather than exciting rallies. I'm speaking strictly from the viewpoint of a spectator, and when the big serve guys play well, the spectating just stinks.