QUESTION OF THE DAY: “Do you know what Venus Williams has in common with Cleopatra?” – A reporter to Venus Williams, who, along with the Egyptian queen made Oprah magazine’s list
of the most powerful women.
MIDNIGHT SNACK OF CHAMPIONS?: Bob Bryan sent the following critical info via Twitter: “Just ate a chicken/rice ball from a dirty late night deli. Tasted better than it looked. Fingers crossed that I’ll have a pepto-free night.”
BLAST FROM THE PAST: John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were spotted hitting together on Court 4.
IT’S A NASTY BUSINESS: Serena Williams sported a T-shirt that read: “Can’t Spell Dynasty Without Nasty.”
MCENROE, MACKINTOSH — IT’S ALL THE SAME: Interviewed live on ESPN2 during the U.S. Open, comic/actor Will Ferrell said, “Let’s send it back up to the Mackintoshes.”
THE VARIETY OF TENNIS BEDROOMS: While Jesse Witten piled his college buddies into his New York hotel room, Roger Federer is staying in a two-bedroom suite at the snazzy Carlyle Hotel. Still, while the Swiss struggled against Lleyton Hewitt, John McEnroe said, “It looks like Federer slept in the twins’ bedroom last night.” BTW: When Stanford separated the Bryan Bros. as freshman and put them in separate dorm rooms, Mike dragged his mattress to Bob’s room and hung out there for the remainder of the year.
CORRECTION — HE’S DOMINATING THE CONVERSATION: Dick Enberg offered up a mighty understatement, saying that when it comes to the best player ever, Roger Federer “is in the conversation.”
HOW MUCH CAN A BROADCASTER EXPLAIN?: After spending the summer describing Roger Federer‘s wide-ranging success, Mary Carillo said, “I just got tired of explaining it.”
NON-TENNIS QUOTE OF THE DAY: WFAN’s late-night broadcaster Steve Somers (aka “The Schmoozer”) complained on-air, “I’ve got a canker sore on my tongue the size of [New York Met] David Wright‘s batting helmet.” You gotta love New York sports talk radio.
HEADLINES
Spent Dent Holds On
Murray Looking Grand
THE NUMBERS
38: Aces for John Isner in his five-set 7-6(3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6(5) third-round win over Andy Roddick
21: Double faults served up by Maria Sharapova in her third-round 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 loss to Georgia Peach Melanie Oudin
QUOTEBOOK
“He is often forgotten now, but had the lofty lords of tennis opened the best tournaments to pros long before 1968, Richard Alonzo Gonzalez would be in the conversation with Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Don Budge, Bill Tilden and several others when the best players are discussed.” — Dave Anderson on Pancho Gonzalez
“I don’t feel so bad about losing to Jesse in practice.” — John McEnroe on World TeamTennis teammate Jesse Witten, 26, who won his first two ATP Tour-level matches and reached the third round of the U.S. Open
“David was closer to Goliath than Jesse was to Djokovic at the beginning of the match, but Jesse is certainly holding his own.” — Bill Macatee on the Jesse Witten vs. Novak Djokovic third-rounder
“New York is a magnet for caffeinated overachievers.” — Dick Enberg
“I’m not really shooting for semis right now.” — Roger Federer when asked about his record streak of reaching Grand Slam semis
“It’s only the fourth day of the U.S. Open, and my pick for he women’s title is heading for the airport. Next stop, Moscow.” — Bud Collins, who had picked Elena Dementieva to win it all
