For the first time since 1973 there is no American man in the top 10 on the ATP tour !

Is it the coaching?--The talent?--The surface on which men learn the game?--Lack of motivation?

My take on it is that US players grow up playing primarily on medium fast hard courts and as a result don't really understand how to best develop a point on surfaces other than that speed court.

European and South American players have their first tennis experience on much slower courts and learn how to use the geometry of the court to twist and turn and degrade the balance of their opponents in their efforts to earn points.

 The american men see the big serve as the Holy Grail ,and theres nothing wrong with the big serve as long as it doesn't subordinate the development of an all court mentality.

   The USTA hired Patrick McEnroe as the head of player development.  He understands the issue and has addressed it by adding more variety to the surfaces up and coming Americans will train on.

The next few US OPEN SERIES events will be played on hard courts but who know what the speed of the surface will be.

Lets hope the UTSA gears the speed of the courts in NYC to the games of  Roddick-Isner-Fish-Harrison Blake and the other Americans that have games suited to quicker courts.

We don't want the US to tumble into 3rd World tennis status!




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                                                    WHO COULD IT BE!
He certainly isn't in the public consciousness as a top level- ticket selling- matinée idol- super star !

He's not known for his huge booming serve--- No huge weapon like the Federer forehand.

Hes ranked outside the top 100 on the ATP tour ,but is the most feared unseeded floater in this years US Open.

He's kinda chunky !  --  Not a specimen like  Verdasco or Nadal.

All he is is solid--solid solid !

David Nalbandian is a coaches model of stroke production and tactical awareness.

Hip surgery sidelined him for nearly 8 months, but he's come back fitter and hungrier that ever.

I love watching this guy play!  The way he constructs points is like watching an instructional video.

There  is a very good chance of him knocking off a  high seed in the first week of the Open.

                                  
Hell--- he could win the whole thing if he stays healthy.

 Andy Murray was focused, purposeful and most surprisingly------ Quiet!

The coaches are gone and the responsibility was squarely on Judys' shoulders.

The game plan was to grab the bull by the horns--- before he started chasing you around the ring.

The defensive tools that Murray relied on to  regularly beat most of the worlds top 20 players, but failed to win him any of the Grand Slam events, were still evident but   for the most part relegated to  use in defensive situations.

The fun of wiggling off the hook was put on the back burner and the first strike tactic was the order of the day.

I'm not sure if I can cheer for Andy, but I have a new found interest in watching him ply his trade.

He dismantled a hot Nalbandian and  then really showed us how well he competes by taking out Nadal and Federer back to back.

His disdain for authority  seems to stop at moms doorstep ,and the avenue of escape from personal responsibility is a dead end when shes in charge.

 He is Brash--His mom is his coach-- He is great competitor--Everyone hates him--sound familiar?

 Jimmy Connors turned most fans back to his side later in his career and maybe Andy can to ,but hes going to have to deliver the goods in the main events and shut up while doing it!

                                                                             Just my opinion,Howie Burnett

Two weeks ago Andy Roddick was mired in the muck of a midsummer slump.

Out in 5 against Yen Hsun Lu  (WHO)  in the 4th round at Wimbledon!

Lost to an admiditly resurgent  Mardy Fish in Atlanta in the semis

Out early in Washington to  the Frenchman Simon in straight sets  --an ugly loss!

 He skips the Masters 1000 in Toronto and finds out after some medical tests that he's been playing with  a mild case of Mono!
  
Well--- I guess a week off is plenty of time to recover to play the  Masters - 1000 Event in Cincy this week ---- If your name is Andy Roddick.

Last night Roddick put on a display  that his old coach Brad Gilbert must be very proud of.

After winning the first set against world #5 Robin Soderling ,he ground his way through a second set loss that would have ripped the guts out of a lot of players, but Roddick just dusted himself off and got back to the business of winning the 3rd set and the match.

Being a gamer is what its all about !!

He sometimes gets over stimulated and starts acting like a teenager with a few beers under his belt, but he seems to channel that energy, more often than not, into a positive channel very much like Johnny Mac used to do.

Winning Ugly  is the title of Brad Gilberts-- (Roddicks former coach)-- book and Andy did just that last night!

 YOU GOTTA LOVE THE GUY!  
                                                          Just my opinion, Howie Burnett




 

 OK HERES THE DEAL!     I WASN'T A TENNIS PLAYER UNTIL I WAS 15 OR 16 .

WHERE I GREW UP YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A FIGHT IF YOUR BUDDIES KNEW YOU WERE A  PLAYER--- SO I PLAYED EVERY OTHER SPORT AND SNUCK TENNIS IN WHERE I COULD.

FOOTBALL- BASEBALL- BASKETBALL --AND THIS IS NO BS--THE TOUGHEST SPORT KNOWN TO MAN   (BUT UNKNOWN TO 99 PERCENT OF THE WORLD)  - 1 WALL HAND BALL.

ANDY MURRAY AND NOVACK DJOKOVIC ARE THE PERSONIFICATION OF  THE REASON TENNIS IS NOT ATTRACTIVE TO THE AMERICA PSHYCHE-- AND WHY I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A FIGHT WITH MY BUDDIES ALL THE TIME IF THEY KNEW I WAS A SERIOUS TENNIS PLAYER.

ANDY RODDICK AND MARDY FISH ARE THE PERSONIFICATION OF WHY IT SHOULD BE ATTRACTIVE!


GO ON THE COURT READY TO PLAY --OR DON'T SHOW UP !

 WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO SUFFER THROUGH WATCHING YOU LOOK AT YOUR MOMMY OR ENTOURAGE EVERY TIME YOU DUMP A BALL INTO THE NET-- OR TRY AN IDIOTIC DROP SHOT FROM 10 FEET BEHIND THE BASELINE- OR  MOPE AROUND LIKE YOUR NEW PUPPY  WAS JUST RUN OVER--- BECAUSE YOU ARE OF BREATH FROM RUNNING FOR A FEW SHOTS  THAT WERE FARAWAY FROM YOU.

I ABSOLOUTLY LOVE TENNIS-- BUT IT KILLS ME TO WATCH THE THE DRAMA THAT A FEW SPOILED BRATS EXHIBIT BECAUSE SOMEONE IS THERE TO CODDLE THEM EVERY TIME THE GOING GETS NASTY.

MARDY AND ANDY MAKE ME PROUD--- SURE RODDICK GETS ON THE CHAIR UMPIRES SOMETIMES BUT ITS A FIGHTING ATTITUDE--- NOT WHINEY OR MOPEY!

FEDERER SHUTS UP AND PLAYS--NADAL SHUTS UP AND PLAYS-FISH SHUTS UP AND PLAYS


WHATS UP WITH MURRAY AND DJOKOVIC?  I REALLY WISH THEY'ED JUST SHUT UP AND PLAY!

                                                                     JUST MY OPINION, HOWIE BURNETT

 Sundays final at Cincy was riveting- high quality stuff !

I kept waiting for my new hero Mardy Fish to crack and eventually it happened.

After suffering through nearly 3 hours of Mary Carillo and Ian Eagle on CBS punning and chuckling ( God they are awful)  their way through one of the best played matches of the year----I watched Fish, serving at 4 all and 30 -15 in the 3rd set , get impatient--- and after hitting a decent-- but kind of shallow ball to Federers backhand corner, move forward from behind the baseline.

A cross court-- shallow--- delayed approach-- from behind the baseline--HMMMMM.

At the elite level bad decisions lose matches --but they show up as hitting errors on the stat sheet!!

 Well, Mardy missed a low backhand volley off the Federer pass .  

Roger smelled the blood in the water and turned it up a notch to break serve then hold  serve himself to close it out 6-4 in the 3rd.

Impatience, not the volley, was the culprit that lost Fish the match!


Federers shot making my not be what it was at his very peak --but his decision making in the heat of battle is still at the top of the heap.

I'm still high on Fish at the Open--He's fit to go 5 and playing great percentage tennis.

Well almost all the time!!

                                                                   Just my opinion--Howie Burnett

JAMES BLAKE WAS USHERD OUT OF THE PILOT PEN  IN NEW HAVEN TODAY WITHOUT MUCH OF A FIGHT.

SURE HE WAS RUNNING HARD AND SPANKING WINNERS HERE AND THERE, BUT THE HEART HE SHOWED US IN  HIS SUMMER RUNS AT THE OPEN IN 2005 AND 2006 SEEMS BROKEN.

HE CAME OUT OF COLLEGE TENNIS (HAVARD-IVY LEAGUE) AND WINNING WAS A HABIT.

HIS AGGRESSIVE BASELINE STYLE SERVED HIM WELL AS LONG AS HE WAS HEALTHY-BUT NOW FOLLOWING A KNEE INJURY AND A PROLONGED REHAB STINT WITH A FEW SET BACKS HERE AND THERE, THE WINS ARENT COMING VERY OFTEN ANY MORE, AND AT 30 HE DOSENT SEEM TOO UPBEAT ABOUT THAT CHANGING.

I ASKED HIM IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE ANY TWEAKING OF HIS GAME-- HE SAID THAT HE AND COACH KELLY JONES ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE--- BUT HE SEEMED INSISTENT THAT THE SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL AND NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE COURSE OF ACTION WAS THE WAY TO GO

HE SEEMED GENUINLY EMBARRASSED DURING THE PRESS BRIEFING, AND IM HOPING THE COURSE OF ACTION HE HAS CHOSEN TO REVIATILZE HIS GAME WORKS.

SHOCK CAN CREATE INACTION --AND JAMES LOOKED LIKE A DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS THIS AFTERNOON.

                                                                                     JUST MY OPINION,HOWIE BURNETT

 Caroline Wozniacki is seeded #1 at the US OPEN that begins Monday.

Her quarter final opponent at the ongoing Pilot Pen Tourney in New Haven, Flavia Pennetta, injured her right foot in a previous match and defaulted, giving Wozniacki a walkover into the semis where she plays Elena Dementieva.


This evenings match should be very interesting because both players want to come into the open riding the confidence wave that can only be built  by winning tough matches, but not leave it all out on the court and  be sluggish or flat for  the early rounds in Queens.

Dementieva is  a veteran ,seeded 12th and has a wealth more experience with scheduling and wont be subjected to the media whirlwind in NYC that #1 Caroline is going to have to endure.

It's one thing for a qualifier to fight their way to the first round and be spent, but not the top seed!

Tonights match may be about who can gracefully bow out while still getting in a GOOD HIT.

Heres hoping Wozniacki has a short learning curve and understands the big picture.

                                                                    Just my opinion,Howie Burnett

 Sweet-- Blonde--Giggles- A Bubbly ray of sun shine.

NOOOTTTT !

 Snarling beast--YES

Don't let her Pollyanna looks fool you this kid is the real deal !

Modern tennis is about Hunger and Athleticism --Technique and Training.

I'm afraid her athletic drive may have put her into overdrive tonight in New Haven, and cost her any chance of winning the Open.

The unbridled effort she laid out tonight in beating Dementieva (7-6 in the 3rd) made me cheer for her youthful exuberance but wonder about her focus on the big prize.


I hope her exit interview in Queens doesn't  cite fatigue as the reason she didn't win.


If she plays in an event within 100 miles of you  GO BUY A TICKET AND SEE HER PLAY !!

                   Fun Stuff------Just my opinion, Howie Burnett

 Caroline Wozniacki took out Nadia Petrova in 3 sets to win the final event leading up to the US OPEN.

She played her normal explosive athletic brand of tennis to the delight of a sparsely populated stadium.

When she gets  to the Big Apple everything will be amped up 200%.

I really hope putting out her athletic best this week doesn't leave her with a dead battery next week!

When this young woman is fully charged SHE GOT GAME!!

                                                                                          Just my opinion, Howie Burnett

 Victoria Azarenka Has the tools-- the size-- the speed -the power and the attitude to succeed at the Open

 I'm picking her as an outside chance to take it all.      
                                                           

                                                                                    Just my opinion,Howie Burnett

                                       Tell me your outside pick.