# US Open Tennis **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 28, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071 "2009-08-28T19:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/41 "2009-09-02T23:22:08Z")
Okay thank you. So who found it unclassy then? šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/42 "2009-09-03T00:34:28Z")
I donā€™t find it ā€œunclassy.ā€ She was in a press conference where the issue had been raised again, as it is ad nauseum with her, and she wasnā€™t poking fun at Safina, sheā€™s making a very pointed comment about the rating system. We had a debate about that after Wimbledon here in this forum, sparked by exactly the comments you mentioned. Of course, there were perhaps better ways of expressing her opinion, but really, how is she supposed to address it? ā€œIā€™m better than she is, I beat her every time we go head to head, sheā€™s yet to win a major, and her only wins come in minor tournaments.ā€ Is that going to come off any better? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/43 "2009-09-03T02:55:58Z")
ā€œIā€™m better than she is, I beat her every time we go head-to-head on any surface.ā€ That would suffice. She didnā€™t have to make fun of her for only winning small tournaments. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/44 "2009-09-03T02:56:28Z")
Federer got a decent test from Greul tonight but looked excellent. Serena played extremely well and laid an ungodly butt-whooping on her opponent. I eagerly await **Covered\_In\_Bees!**'s reaction to that staredown with the line judge after the foot fault call. She took her game up several notches after that, though. Iā€™ll be at the night session tomorrow with my little brother. The matches are Sharapova-McHale and Roddick-Gicquel. Iā€™d much rather have seen tonightā€™s pairing but Iā€™m hoping for a good time. Iā€™ve seen Sharapova before and as Iā€™ve said many times here, Iā€™m not a big fan because her style of play is not that interesting. Christina McHale is an American player who lost a brutal match at the Australian Open. She lost 9-7 in the third after having leg cramps. I hope she can give it a good go. I like Roddickā€™s rejuvenated game and Iā€™m looking forward to seeing it in person. Hereā€™s hoping for interesting matches. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/45 "2009-09-03T03:06:27Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > That would suffice. She didnā€™t have to make fun of her for only winning small tournaments. We discussed these comments at the time; she made them at Wimbledon. [I donā€™t know if there is a full transcript, but hereā€™s a more complete quote anyway.](http://2009.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/articles/2009-07-04/200907041246727086671.html) > [@](#): > > "I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles maybe you should be No.1, but not on the WTA Tour obviously, soā€¦ You know, my motivation is maybe just to win another Grand Slam and stay No.2, I guess. Iā€™d rather definitely be No.2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any. > > ā€œI think the girl, Dinara, who is No.1, you can clearly see by her physique how hard she works. You canā€™t get anywhere by not doing the best and not working your hardest. So, you know, Iā€™m happy for her. Iā€™m really excited that I won Wimbledon, though, because, like I said, Iā€™d rather win that than not win the Championships.ā€ ETA after viewing: Yeah, okay, she just about busts a got after saying Safina won Rome and Madrid (significant non-major tournaments, not ā€œCharlestonā€). Sheā€™s being egged on by the journalists, but itā€™s far from classy. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/46 "2009-09-03T03:41:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I eagerly await Covered\_In\_Bees!'s reaction to that staredown with the line judge after the foot fault call. I missed it. ā˜¹ In my imagination though, the line person is flipping her off. šŸ˜‰ And it doesnā€™t sound like one of those things that will be replayed in tomorrowā€™s coverage. YouTube to the rescue? > [@](#): > > I like Roddickā€™s rejuvenated game and Iā€™m looking forward to seeing it in person. Hereā€™s hoping for interesting matches. Have fun. > [@](#): > > not ā€œCharlestonā€ My mistake. > [@](#): > > Sheā€™s being egged on by the journalists, They didnā€™t help, but she did enjoy a pretty hardy laugh and you canā€™t egg a person to laugh that much. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/47 "2009-09-03T03:50:02Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > And it doesnā€™t sound like one of those things that will be replayed in tomorrowā€™s coverage. YouTube to the rescue? You might see a clip on SportsCenter or something. Itā€™s pretty simple, though: a linesman called her for a foot fault and she just stopped and stared for maybe 10 or 15 seconds. > [@](#): > > They didnā€™t help, but she did enjoy a pretty hardy laugh and you canā€™t egg a person to laugh that much. They were laughing pretty hard throughout the interview. It was odd, really, because she was being a bit sarcastic but didnā€™t say anything to elicit _that_ strong a response. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/48 "2009-09-03T17:58:31Z")
This has already been an upset-riddled tournament for the women, but right now Melanie Oudin is up a break in the fifth set with a chance to knock out Dementieva. That would by far be the biggest stunner of the tournament. Dementievaā€™s been the best womenā€™s player this summer, sheā€™d finally fixed her serve, beaten Serena, won some tournaments and looked mentally strong. But Oudin is up a break at 5-2 in the third. Maybe itā€™s a bad day, but with her Wimbledon result and this potential upset, Oudinā€™s looking like the real deal! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/49 "2009-09-03T18:08:02Z")
Melanie _oooh, damn_! She did it! Took her three match points, but she takes out the potential favorite (at least in the non-Williams division), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3! ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/50 "2009-09-03T19:51:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Melanie _oooh, damn_! She did it! Took her three match points, but she takes out the potential favorite (at least in the non-Williams division), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3! And now Jankovic is almost on her way out. :eek: She lost the first set to Shvedova 3-6 and the second set is in a tiebreaker as I type this. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/51 "2009-09-03T19:59:04Z")
Okay, upset averted. Theyā€™re going to the deciding third set. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/52 "2009-09-03T20:05:17Z")
Jeez, itā€™s like clockwork with the Serbian duo these days. They both got to #1 last year and Ivanovic won a slam, but this year neither of them has even reached the quarterfinals of any major. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/53 "2009-09-03T21:21:01Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Okay, upset averted. Theyā€™re going to the deciding third set. Okay upset confirmed. Jankovic out. And my baby Sabine is definately out. Rolled her ankle big time and just laid on the court crying. :(:(ā˜¹ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/54 "2009-09-04T16:38:09Z")
I had a great time at the Open last night with my brother, but as you probably noticed the matches werenā€™t exactly high on drama. The evening session started almost two hours later because of day matches that ran long, probably including Safinaā€™s second straight attempted choke job and the long Jankovic and Oudin upsets. (I donā€™t know which court each one was played on.) We did get to hang around the grounds for a while to watch the last two sets of James Blakeā€™s win over O. Rochus, which was tougher than it should have been. We also tried the Tennis Zone and had our pictures taken with a ridiculous car made of or covered in tennis ball felt. Of course you just had to stand in front of it - they would let you touch it, but refused to take a picture of you doing anything but standing three feet in front of it. McHale hung with Sharapova for about two games - she was broken immediately, got even, and then got steamrolled. She was clearly nervous, which was understandable. The crowd tried to loosen her up, but Sharapova had way too much power. Her serve disappeared for a little while in the early second set, but by the end of the match she was playing very, very well. I was a little let down that we didnā€™t see more of the new and improved Roddick game. He won easily because Gicquel doesnā€™t have the weapons to challenge him at all, and his serve was as good as usual, but he hardly came to net (17 times), sliced the backhand sometimes but didnā€™t show off that improved two-hand groundstroke, and played WAY behind the baseline. Gicquel was at the baseline and Roddick was behind it, which was really backward. All that said, Roddick won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Iā€™m sure his match with Isner will be more challenging and interesting. Since Roddick is so much stronger and more talented than Gicquel, I thought last nightā€™s match would be a chance for him to try some new things and experiment, take a few risks. Not to be disrespectful, but Gicquel is the definition of a journeyman. Heā€™s got a sub-.500 career record, is 32 years old and ranked #81 - although given his age and style of play, thatā€™s impressive - has never reached the quarters of a major. He was very fast, though, just like Roddickā€™s first-round opponent, Bjorn Phau. In fact Gicquel did several nearly-compete splits as he raced around the court and then tried to slide to a halt. Which leads me to this piece of trivia from his Wikipedia entry: > [@](#): > > In a match during the 2007 Halle, Germany tournament, Gicquel was struck directly in the genitals by a 129mph Benjamin Becker serve. He went on to beat Becker, but spent most of the night vomiting and in pain due to swelling and was forced to retire in his next match versus Jarkko Nieminen. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/55 "2009-09-04T17:15:18Z")
Gicquelā€™s misfortune with Ben Beckerā€™s serve is bad, but not as bad as lineman Richard Wertheimā€™s misfortune with Stefan Edbergā€™s serve during the 1983 Boyā€™s Single final at the 83 US Open. Wiki trivia in the Stefan Edbergā€™s article: > [@](#): > > Edberg was involved in a freak accident during the boysā€™ singles final at the 1983 US Open, when Richard Wertheim, a linesman, was struck by a ball hit by Edberg. Wertheim toppled backwards off his chair fracturing his skull as he hit the ground. Wertheim died of his injury. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/56 "2009-09-05T07:42:00Z")
The top 17 menā€™s seeds have all reached the third round, which is just crazy. The highest seed who didnā€™t make it was Ferrer, who lost in five sets. Looks like Taylor Dent played an amazing match to make the third round, but itā€™s hard to imagine him having a whole lot left when he takes on Andy Murray. Big matches tomorrow include Federer-Hewitt, Sharapova-Oudin, Roddick-Isner, and of course, Safina-Safina. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/57 "2009-09-05T07:45:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The top 17 menā€™s seeds have all reached the third round, which is just crazy. The highest seed who didnā€™t make it was Ferrer, who lost in five sets. Looks like Taylor Dent played an amazing match to make the third round, but itā€™s hard to imagine him having a whole lot left when he takes on Andy Murray. Big matches tomorrow include Federer-Hewitt, Sharapova-Oudin, Roddick-Isner, and of course, Safina-Safina. Sounds like my Saturday is booked. I never heard on ESPN today what tomorrowā€™s feature matches were. Probably because three out of four of todayā€™s feature matches were all featuring a bitch or two that I donā€™t like. _Both_ Williamsā€™ and Andy Murray. _shudder_ Thank God for Nadal to finish the night off. A pretty decent match. That second set definately had people raising some eyebrows as to just what was going to happen. Then the third and fourth sets cleared it up rather nicely. šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/58 "2009-09-05T12:29:02Z")
Yep, Nadal played a solid match last night. Question: Why does Rafa always look like he is going a to movie after a tennis match? Answer: Because, he is always picking his seat ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/59 "2009-09-05T18:09:59Z")
Man, it would be awesome if the qualifier Witten manages to sneak past Djokovic. I donā€™t think heā€™d make it that far, as heā€™s playing the match of his life against a stumbling Novak, and heā€™s still down two sets to one. And he looks like the least fit guy on the menā€™s sideā€¦ And why is CBS going away from the match to show us 15 minutes of hype for the Sharapova-Oudin match? It hasnā€™t even started yet! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071/60 "2009-09-05T20:01:13Z")
> [@Windwalker](#): > > And why is CBS going away from the match to show us 15 minutes of hype for the Sharapova-Oudin match? It hasnā€™t even started yet! My mom called me to complain about that. In fact she was annoyed they went away from Federer-Hewitt to show Djokovic-Witten, and then went away from that to talk about Sharapova-Oudin. ESPN hasnā€™t been doing this kind of thing this year, or at least not that I remember, but CBS always does it a lot. I was out running errands so I just started watching a few minutes ago. Looks like Oudin had to fight like hell to close the second set against Sharapova, and I canā€™t wait to see how it ends! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-tennis/508071.md?page=4)