US Open running thread

I'm the wrong person to ask. I don't think anyone should be in the tennis locker rooms.

First of all, they're small, and there's such a huge amount of media here that if everyone took it upon themselves to go it, it'd be total chaos. I don't think most of the media knows they're actually allowed in, which helps keep the chaos down.

I suspect the "locker-room access" issue is rather American in flavour, and Americans are in the minority here.

Secondly, there are an absolute ton of young teenage girls around, especially the second week. No place for a bunch of grown men to set up shop. Sorry. Equal access, shmequal access.

The other issue here is that there are a ton – a ton – of accredited "media" that aren't doing squat, other than getting a great free seat to watch tennis matches at the expense of some people who are actually writing on deadline. With all that free time on their hands, imagine if they got into their heads that hanging out in the opposite sex's locker room was a good way to pass the time between, er, between nothing, since they aren't really doing anything.

It's unlike, say, an MLB game where there is less media overall and most are pretty much there for game coverage.

I do remember during the 2004 ALCS, they often closed the Red Sox and esp. the Yankees clubhouse completely to reporters, simply because there was too much media and far too little space for them to navigate.

Bottom line, locker rooms here shouldn't be open. There's a player lounge where, if you really need to find someone for an interview, there's a better shot.

I'm sure I'm in the minority with that opinion. But then again, I'm usually not one to toe the company line. ;D

 

Roddick-Federer tied at one set apiece.

 

Excellent take.

 

While watching the late NFL games at my local watering hole one of the bartenders turned one of the TVs on the tennis match for the last three sets. Once Roddick got broken to lose the third, I told her he'd be lucky to win 10 points in the fourth. With Federer, you almost know when he's going to win a set at love or 6-1.

 

I knew Roddick was done when he lost those four or five break points in the third. It was like the wind went out of his sails.

 

the wind certainly wasn't beneath his wings.

 

I watched Sports Reporters and not one of them seemed to have a clue that Federer was going to dismantle Roddick. Lupica, of course, took the hardest bite at the Jimmy-Conners-has-made-Roddick-into-a-whole-new-player bait. Bob Ryan and whoever else was there didn't disagree, and said he had at least a decent shot at beating Roger. I'm not saying that Conners hasn't helped Roddick, it certainly seems he has. But anyone who watched Roddick play in the early rounds and the lead-up tournaments ought to have known he still has way too many flaws in his game to stay on the court with a halfway sharp Roger Federer. The one thing that pisses me off about the new, edgier Andy Roddick schtick is the fact that no tennis player in the world has had more members of the media (John McEnroe included) rooting for him to win and win big over the past five years. Add that to the fact that asshole Andy is so disengenuous when he's being an asshole that it's a joke.

It's not you against the world, Andy. It's the world with you against Federer, and he meticulously and systematically breaks you like a pony at the county fair every time you play him.

 

Was the final match Federer-Roddick or Woods-Connors? I think that CBS gets a gold star for overkill.

I was impressed that Roddick held it together after Federer saved all of those break points in the thrid set. Roddick showed some guts fighting back in the next service game after Roger had him against the wall. But he did fold a little too easily in the final set for my taste.

 

I don't know that Roddick folded since Federer hardly missed a shot in the fourth.

Tiger is now 30 and married, so why the hell is he walking around in public (where he knew he'd be on TV) with his hat on backward?

Anyone else find it a little odd that Tiger was cheering against an American? I know this isn't the Olympics or anything, but it still seemed a little strange. Would he have done it if Roddick wore Nike?

 

I think Tiger was cheering for Federer more than he was cheering against an American. Besides being swoosh brothers, Tiger likes surrounding himself with those Euro types (Elin, Annika, Roger).

 

Federer: 69 winners. 19 errors.

That's sick.

 

I'd been thinking about this during the Open and wondered if anyone else would know the answer.

Back in 1980 and '81 I recall driving back to college after a weekend at home and listening to the Open men's final on the radio. It was a stage of my life where I'd listen to or watch any sports event that was on radio or TV. But it now strikes me that tennis really isn't an event for radio. So my question is this: Is the US Open still broadcast on radio? I couldn't find it here in my city, but that doesn't mean it's not.

Anyone know? Anyone ever recall listening to tennis on the radio?