Except i'm going to watch the ladies square off at 5:00 pacific time.
I'm sure I'll watch it though. Glad to find out the good news from CF's boxing experts.
2010 U.S. Open
- Thread starter Quiet Speed
- Start date
Matra1
Mentor
That might be a career defining victory for Djokovic. Fed beat him the last three US Opens but today Djokovic came through even overcoming two match points. He was pure steel.
Quiet Speed
Mentor
Congrats to Kim Clijsters. She has put together a terrific string of victories at the Open
Nadal has a 14-7 record vs. Djokovic. Most of Nadal's victories came on the clay. Djokovic leads the series 7-3 (? source Wikipedia ) on the hard courts. Novak has won the last three meetings. But, Nadal has never lost to Novak in a grand slam event or any tournament finals (again wiki). I would pick a winner, but that would be the kiss of death.
Nadal has a 14-7 record vs. Djokovic. Most of Nadal's victories came on the clay. Djokovic leads the series 7-3 (? source Wikipedia ) on the hard courts. Novak has won the last three meetings. But, Nadal has never lost to Novak in a grand slam event or any tournament finals (again wiki). I would pick a winner, but that would be the kiss of death.
Quiet Speed
Mentor
It's unfortunate that the biggest day in U.S. tennis falls on the first weekend of NFL games. John McEnroe is of the opinion that the men's final should go prime time like the ladies. One reason thrown out for not making the switch is that CBS will not interfere with 60 Minutes of all things. Rather than a Sunday prime time match, a Monday night championship match could take place as suggested by some. Playing on a Monday would give the players an extra day of rest. Djokovic has to turn around and play the title match after having gone the limit in a five setter in the late match. Advantage Nadal.
True, regardless of whether it is a Sunday or Monday prime time match, the final would have to compete with a nationally televised NFL broadcast. I'd be willing to see if a prime time championship could capture an enthusiastic audience and raise the stature of the game in the process.
True, regardless of whether it is a Sunday or Monday prime time match, the final would have to compete with a nationally televised NFL broadcast. I'd be willing to see if a prime time championship could capture an enthusiastic audience and raise the stature of the game in the process.
Solomon Kane
Mentor
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2006
- Messages
- 783
Congrats to Kim....it's ajoy to end the series of tennis and golf majors with white champs!
Kim is a credit to theBelgian people--she's attractive, friendly, and strong. She knows how to play the williams--make them run around the court, then hit a winner. That lob that was just inside was classic!
We need Justine and Maria to get back in their game--Maria especially.
Whoever wins in the men's final--it shows the dominance of whites in Tennis!
Kim is a credit to theBelgian people--she's attractive, friendly, and strong. She knows how to play the williams--make them run around the court, then hit a winner. That lob that was just inside was classic!
We need Justine and Maria to get back in their game--Maria especially.
Whoever wins in the men's final--it shows the dominance of whites in Tennis!
Matra1
Mentor
John McEnroe is of the opinion that the men's final should go prime time like the ladies.
That would mess up European TV ratings. Men's tennis is much bigger there than in the US.
I've always thought they should just start the Open a week earlier. That way they avoid the NFL and the windy, rainy, weather that seems to come after Labor Day. Edited by: Matra1
That would mess up European TV ratings. Men's tennis is much bigger there than in the US.
I've always thought they should just start the Open a week earlier. That way they avoid the NFL and the windy, rainy, weather that seems to come after Labor Day. Edited by: Matra1
darthvader
Guru
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2008
- Messages
- 148
As a huge tennis fan I would love to see not just the men's final go primetime but I highly recommend the women's tour go three sets in the grand slam tournaments because a women's final match should go longer than the thrasing that kim clijsters gave to zvonareva. Although i congratulate kim, a women's final should be more competitive. It's only fai since I believe the prize money (if I'm not mistaken) is the same for men and women. I would also eliminate the tiebreak for all sets and for all grand slam tournaments. Finally i think there should be another major tournament at the end of the year. It's a shame that we didn't get federer and nadal but djokovic deserved the win because he was the aggressor and had federer on the defensive 75 percent of the time. After watching federer spray those forehand errors I couldn't help but think that age has caught up to him. I still think he has at least 2 more slams in him but physically he seems a step and a half slow and cannot exchange from the baseline effectively as he used to. More importantly I would love to never ever see the two ugly beasts I mean the williams sisters.
foobar75
Master
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2008
- Messages
- 2,332
What a lucky break for Novak! I still think Nadal is playing at a different level right now, but that extra day of rest will certainly help Djokovic more. Still, I just don't see Nadal making the same forehand errors we saw Federer make in the semi-final match-up. I'm going to predict a 4-set victory for the Spaniard, which would complete a career GS for him and join an elite company.
And yes, Kim Clijsters is at the moment clearly my favorite women's tennis player. I hope she can now build on his momentum and actually win another GS or 2 outside the US Open.Edited by: foobar75
And yes, Kim Clijsters is at the moment clearly my favorite women's tennis player. I hope she can now build on his momentum and actually win another GS or 2 outside the US Open.Edited by: foobar75
Quiet Speed
Mentor
Nadal the monster is the king of tennis at this time. He has now captured the last three majors. Great match tonight. Djokovic played with grit and delivered some tremendous shots. He earned some new found fans. Nadal is scary, how does he do it. At a crucial break point for Djokovic in the final set, Novak hit a knifing, low, penetrating slice to Nadal's backhand side. Nadal maneuvers to hit a forehand, not just any forehand, he absolutely crushes the ball for the winner. It's extraordinary what he can do.
darthvader
Guru
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2008
- Messages
- 148
When I saw nadal consistently hit 135 throughout the whole tournament, I couldn't help (as I'm sure alot of people who follow tennis did) but question if he is juicing. Nadal never had a big serve before coming in to the us open which lead me to wonder if possibly all that he has achieved has not been through hard work and you have to add to the fact the guy never seems to get tired and is built like a safety. It would be a real shame if he is actually taking performance enhancing drugs because he has taken tennis to a new level even more so than federer.
If Nadal is indeed using PED's, then that's a scandal waiting to happen (hope I'm wrong). What amazes me about Nadal is his knees, which were problematic just months ago. If Nadal's knees remain healthy for the next 4-5 years, he might win 6-12 more Grand Slams and effectively replace Federer as the game's best ever.
Federer (at 29) is on the decline, and with Murray and Djokovic on the rise, he'll be lucky to win 2-3 more Grand Slams.
I'm simply amazed by Clisters return and rise in the game. If she can only play like that in the other Grand Slams, she's pretty much the biggest thorn for the Williams Brothers (Sisters actually). Way to go, Kim!
Federer (at 29) is on the decline, and with Murray and Djokovic on the rise, he'll be lucky to win 2-3 more Grand Slams.
I'm simply amazed by Clisters return and rise in the game. If she can only play like that in the other Grand Slams, she's pretty much the biggest thorn for the Williams Brothers (Sisters actually). Way to go, Kim!
Quiet Speed
Mentor
It appears the story on Nadal's serve is that his increased velocity is a result of a grip position change. Luke Jenson, who served as commentator for the usopen.org streams, talked about it. IIRC, he said Nadal switched to a Continental style grip for his serves. He can get more pop on the serve with it because he can hit the ball with a flatter stroke. Makes sense, but it's surprising that this tweak was not implemented earlier in his career.
Edited by: Quiet Speed
Edited by: Quiet Speed
Quiet Speed
Mentor
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<h1>Tennis Has Its Heidi Moment, And Everyone Is Pissed</h1>
"This partnership will provide more tennis, to more people, in more ways than ever before," said the USTA's CEO in 2008 after signing a six-year ESPN deal. He was partially correct: I've never seen a tennis broadcast quite like yesterday's.
Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic
last night in a soggy Arthur Ashe Stadium, picking up his first U.S.
Open title and becoming, at age 24, the youngest player in modern men's
tennis history to amass a career Grand Slam. It was a spirited match,
full of tense rallies and impossible angles, between two compelling
athletes: Nadal, arguably the best player in tennis today, and Djokovic,
a more unpredictable talent who arrived in the finals by virtue of a
five-set victory over Nadal's biggest foe, Roger Federer.
But what should have been a hot ticket was handled by the networks
more like a hot potato. The match bounced from Sunday to Monday, from
CBS to ESPN2, and was set to be passed off to a third channel,
ESPN Classic, had it elapsed beyond 10:15 p.m. Nadal pulled off the
victory in time, though, and was rewarded by The Deuce abruptly cutting
away from him, mid-trophy raise, in favor of pre-game B-roll footage
leading into the NFL's extraneously scheduled second football game of
the night.
NY1's Pat Kiernan recorded the nuanced transition, indeed a true feat of advanced production values:
[tube]6rkN_WgDyVk[/tube]
What this video leaves out was the startling suddenness of it all
after such a big and slow buildup for the viewers who dutifully chased
the match down from its start on CBS to its finish on ESPN2. Following
Rafa's win, these fans sat through post-match speeches and interviews,
the presentation of the runner-up plate, and a darling moment involving
Nadal's million-dollar prize check (which Djokovic gallantly offered to
hold). All of these things were shown live on TV, all leading up to
Nadal being handed his trophy.
But when the time finally arrived for Rafa to bask in his
first U.S. Open limelight, to bite down on a trophy that he'd never yet
held, to take his first lap around the court as a career Grand Slam
champion, TV viewers â€" who had chosen tennis, don't forget, over the
Jets-Ravens slop being served one channel down â€" were left totally
hanging, Sopranos finale'd, dickslapped with some worthless pre-game
panning shots of Arrowhead Stadium and the wailing twang of the Monday
Night Football ditty. The Chiefs-Chargers game had not even begun at
that point, and when it did, it aired for all of a few minutes before
moving to ESPN when the Jets-Ravens game finished. Good thing we saw
Hank Williams, Jr., though.
I would almost believe that the network intentionally pulled out the
rug at the ultimate moment, just to prove that it could, but that would
suggest that the clowns running the circus had any hint of a clue. The
whole thing had the whiff of some dude in a production trailer hearing
his watch alarm, toggling a switch with his toe, then resuming his
Tetris. Adding insult to injury: even ESPN Classic, rather than hosting
the U.S. Open's postmortem â€" the press conferences, the Enberg-McEnroe
analysis, the slo-mo tear-jerking footage of Rafa nuzzling his jug â€"
plowed ahead with its coverage of celebrity bowling.
It makes me long for those halcyon days when tennis was carried by
USA, a simpler network that didn't make its viewers submit to its
unexplained whims and shuffle blindly through a labyrinth of
unlocateable sub-channels.
We've all become used to these antics by ESPN, but the World Wide
Leader would never have ruined the finish if it weren't for CBS having
mangled the start. CBS had a hand in postponing the final to Monday
rather than seeing it rain-delayed into primetime Sunday night, and in
scheduling the final for 4 p.m., despite forecasts predicting late
afternoon storms, rather than starting at noon.
When the rain did roll in yesterday, with the game tied in the second set, CBS punted coverage to ESPN2 lest anyone miss...a re-run of Two and a Half Men. Some affiliates never aired the game at all, going with Oprah instead. So slapdash was the decision that the ESPN2 broadcast bore graphics with the CBS logo.
It was an embarrassing dis to the USTA, as the New York Observer's John Koblin wrote last night in a damning assessment:
<blockquote>
All signs seemed to indicate we could be headed for a good long
match. Rafa won the first set, and we're at 4-4 and 30-30 in the second
set. This actually provides a lot of potential for the U.S. Open and
men's tennis. At least the ratings tonight would be through the roofâ€"a
primetime audience for an excellent tennis match! But CBS wants no part
of it. They're cutting it off, and ESPN2 is left to pick up the rest of
the coverage. This is truly mind-boggling. How are fans supposed to even
know where to find it? I know because a friend IMed me. But other than
word-of-mouth? You're finished. And the ratings will surely be ugly.
It's great that the USTA has had a relationship with CBS for so long.
They've broadcast the U.S. Open for 43 years. And nope, there's no roof
here and there probably won't be for some time, and the USTA has to
sleep in the bed it made for itself. But with CBS pulling the plug this
should send a loud-and-clear message that they really shouldn't be the
home for the tournament any longer. This is the showcase event for
tennis in the United States and CBS won't bother finishing airing it.
</blockquote>
As Koblin says, the USTA left themselves vulnerable to this situation. The federation opted, against the loud wishes of John McEnroe, among others,
to build higher and bigger and pack more seats into Arthur Ashe Stadium
rather than construct a slightly scaled down version with a retractable
roof. This is the third consecutive year that weather has caused play
to stretch into Monday.
And they keep on kowtowing to CBS. Last year the federation struck a too-cheery tone when CBS balked at primetime coverage. And discussions of renewing the contract between the two entities, which runs out next year, have been said to "include relief for the broadcaster in the event some of its coverage is delayed or canceled by rain." And this was before the events of the past two days.
"Unfortunately, it's the third straight year, but at least we have a little bit of a track record," USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told the New York Times's Lynn Zinser in one of the least soothing attempts at spin ever. The USTA: At least we know how to f**k up.</div></div></div>
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<h1>Tennis Has Its Heidi Moment, And Everyone Is Pissed</h1>
"This partnership will provide more tennis, to more people, in more ways than ever before," said the USTA's CEO in 2008 after signing a six-year ESPN deal. He was partially correct: I've never seen a tennis broadcast quite like yesterday's.
Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic
last night in a soggy Arthur Ashe Stadium, picking up his first U.S.
Open title and becoming, at age 24, the youngest player in modern men's
tennis history to amass a career Grand Slam. It was a spirited match,
full of tense rallies and impossible angles, between two compelling
athletes: Nadal, arguably the best player in tennis today, and Djokovic,
a more unpredictable talent who arrived in the finals by virtue of a
five-set victory over Nadal's biggest foe, Roger Federer.
But what should have been a hot ticket was handled by the networks
more like a hot potato. The match bounced from Sunday to Monday, from
CBS to ESPN2, and was set to be passed off to a third channel,
ESPN Classic, had it elapsed beyond 10:15 p.m. Nadal pulled off the
victory in time, though, and was rewarded by The Deuce abruptly cutting
away from him, mid-trophy raise, in favor of pre-game B-roll footage
leading into the NFL's extraneously scheduled second football game of
the night.
NY1's Pat Kiernan recorded the nuanced transition, indeed a true feat of advanced production values:
[tube]6rkN_WgDyVk[/tube]
What this video leaves out was the startling suddenness of it all
after such a big and slow buildup for the viewers who dutifully chased
the match down from its start on CBS to its finish on ESPN2. Following
Rafa's win, these fans sat through post-match speeches and interviews,
the presentation of the runner-up plate, and a darling moment involving
Nadal's million-dollar prize check (which Djokovic gallantly offered to
hold). All of these things were shown live on TV, all leading up to
Nadal being handed his trophy.
But when the time finally arrived for Rafa to bask in his
first U.S. Open limelight, to bite down on a trophy that he'd never yet
held, to take his first lap around the court as a career Grand Slam
champion, TV viewers â€" who had chosen tennis, don't forget, over the
Jets-Ravens slop being served one channel down â€" were left totally
hanging, Sopranos finale'd, dickslapped with some worthless pre-game
panning shots of Arrowhead Stadium and the wailing twang of the Monday
Night Football ditty. The Chiefs-Chargers game had not even begun at
that point, and when it did, it aired for all of a few minutes before
moving to ESPN when the Jets-Ravens game finished. Good thing we saw
Hank Williams, Jr., though.
I would almost believe that the network intentionally pulled out the
rug at the ultimate moment, just to prove that it could, but that would
suggest that the clowns running the circus had any hint of a clue. The
whole thing had the whiff of some dude in a production trailer hearing
his watch alarm, toggling a switch with his toe, then resuming his
Tetris. Adding insult to injury: even ESPN Classic, rather than hosting
the U.S. Open's postmortem â€" the press conferences, the Enberg-McEnroe
analysis, the slo-mo tear-jerking footage of Rafa nuzzling his jug â€"
plowed ahead with its coverage of celebrity bowling.
It makes me long for those halcyon days when tennis was carried by
USA, a simpler network that didn't make its viewers submit to its
unexplained whims and shuffle blindly through a labyrinth of
unlocateable sub-channels.
We've all become used to these antics by ESPN, but the World Wide
Leader would never have ruined the finish if it weren't for CBS having
mangled the start. CBS had a hand in postponing the final to Monday
rather than seeing it rain-delayed into primetime Sunday night, and in
scheduling the final for 4 p.m., despite forecasts predicting late
afternoon storms, rather than starting at noon.
When the rain did roll in yesterday, with the game tied in the second set, CBS punted coverage to ESPN2 lest anyone miss...a re-run of Two and a Half Men. Some affiliates never aired the game at all, going with Oprah instead. So slapdash was the decision that the ESPN2 broadcast bore graphics with the CBS logo.
It was an embarrassing dis to the USTA, as the New York Observer's John Koblin wrote last night in a damning assessment:
<blockquote>
All signs seemed to indicate we could be headed for a good long
match. Rafa won the first set, and we're at 4-4 and 30-30 in the second
set. This actually provides a lot of potential for the U.S. Open and
men's tennis. At least the ratings tonight would be through the roofâ€"a
primetime audience for an excellent tennis match! But CBS wants no part
of it. They're cutting it off, and ESPN2 is left to pick up the rest of
the coverage. This is truly mind-boggling. How are fans supposed to even
know where to find it? I know because a friend IMed me. But other than
word-of-mouth? You're finished. And the ratings will surely be ugly.
It's great that the USTA has had a relationship with CBS for so long.
They've broadcast the U.S. Open for 43 years. And nope, there's no roof
here and there probably won't be for some time, and the USTA has to
sleep in the bed it made for itself. But with CBS pulling the plug this
should send a loud-and-clear message that they really shouldn't be the
home for the tournament any longer. This is the showcase event for
tennis in the United States and CBS won't bother finishing airing it.
</blockquote>
As Koblin says, the USTA left themselves vulnerable to this situation. The federation opted, against the loud wishes of John McEnroe, among others,
to build higher and bigger and pack more seats into Arthur Ashe Stadium
rather than construct a slightly scaled down version with a retractable
roof. This is the third consecutive year that weather has caused play
to stretch into Monday.
And they keep on kowtowing to CBS. Last year the federation struck a too-cheery tone when CBS balked at primetime coverage. And discussions of renewing the contract between the two entities, which runs out next year, have been said to "include relief for the broadcaster in the event some of its coverage is delayed or canceled by rain." And this was before the events of the past two days.
"Unfortunately, it's the third straight year, but at least we have a little bit of a track record," USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told the New York Times's Lynn Zinser in one of the least soothing attempts at spin ever. The USTA: At least we know how to f**k up.</div></div></div>
I was watching when it happened. They couldn't give Nadal even a few seconds to bask in glory rather thandelay a few seconds of coverage ofa mundane NFL game. Glad to see some complaints. If Monfils had won, CBS would probably still be showing it.
Yes QS I was watching the final when I heard that ESPN Classic was waiting in the wings in case the match intruded on a semi meaningless pro football opener. Amazing. CBS cow tows to Queen Oprah, someone I never watch and places it on a weird cable CBS affiliated weather channel. CBS bails even before the sun sets and ESPN2 who bought up a lot of tennis rights treats tennis as some disease to be eliminated as fast as possible so they can move on to bigger better things like miniscule endless analysis on the NFL and NBA and MLB. And Tiger of course. Is it any wonder tennis rarely gets an SI cover anymore? Yet go to tournaments and you will find the most obsessed fans having the time of their lives. Mainstream media is totally disconnected from tennis fans and the reasons are obvious to me.
On a brighter note Kim Clijsters, the most athletic female player today chops down the Venus tree on her way to a third US Open trophy.
On a brighter note Kim Clijsters, the most athletic female player today chops down the Venus tree on her way to a third US Open trophy.