BEER ME: James Blake said his most vocal supporters (the J-Block included) really hit their stride once they get “Heinekenized.”
CURIOUS QUESTION OF THE MONTH: “Would you classify yourself now as bigger than the big chicken?” — Reporter to Melanie Oudin (for non Georgians, Marietta’s big chicken is a perhaps the funkiest looking KFC in the nation)
WHAT PLANET HAVE YOU BEEN ON?: Since Serena Williams said she, not Dinara Safina, was the best player on the planet, the Russian has been haunted by Great No. 1 Debate. On Thursday, a reporter asked Safina, “Is it something that enters your mind at all?”
A PERFECT 10: All of the top 10 men’s seeds are still alive at the USO (and none of them have dropped a set).
A DIAMOND ON THE MIND: John McEnroe compared James Blake to former Major League slugger Dave Kingman. Said Mac, “He hit a lot of home runs, but he struck out a lot, too.” He later said that Andy Roddick had more majors than that “other A-Rod guy” (think Yankee Alex Rodriguez, who has yet to win a World Series ring).
SLAM CHALLENGED: Two of the three best women to have not won a Slam — Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva — have already lost and No. 1 Dinara Safina has twice danced with defeat.
WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT?: Okay, there’s just one American man in the top 20, and Justin Gimelstob noted that he was the last guy to win the 18s Nationals and go on to win a match at the U.S. Open (and that was 14 years ago). Still, people, including Pat McEnroe, are talking (perhaps a tad prematurely) of the Great American Tennis Bounce Back.
PROVOCATIVE PREDICTION OF THE DAY: John McEnroe predicted Sam Querrey would be in the top 10 by Wimbledon 2010.
TRAVEL ADVISORY OF THE DAY: ESPN’s Chris Fowler offered a rather unsparing view of Dinara Safina, calling her “the potential human train wreck.”
PAINFUL OBSERVATION: Reflecting on the tentative, not-so-gutsy state of play on the WTA Tour, Mary Carillo said there is a “contagion of pain” among the women.
THE PIED PIPERS: Before the Open began, the Bryans Bros. appeared at a Prince promotion in Central Park, went all the way out to East Hampton and then debuted their new album at Manhattan’s Mercury Lounge.
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY: If you thought Jelena Jankovic looked out of sorts during her second-round loss to Yaroslava Shvedova, you’re right. After the match, the Serb revealed that her grandmother, with whom she was quite close, died the night before. “I wasn’t really on the court,” said Jankovic. “I was very sad, and emotionally I was really not on court. I really tried my best to be there and to try to play, but it was really hard. You could see I was not happy on the court. I was really suffering…So there are more important things in life than tennis. When you think about it, this is just a small event compared to somebody in your family who dies.”
SAM’S STILL SAM: According to the Bryan Bros., success hasn’t gone to Southern Californian Sam Querrey‘s head. Said Bob, “He’s still a happy-go-lucky guy. He’s still down to earth. He’s still Sam Querrey. He’s a jokester, a little weird [laughs], but he’s the same guy — just a lot better on the court. A lot more confident, and he’s got huge weapons. He’s just believing in himself. The whole summer was huge for him. He gained a lot of momentum and won a lot of matches.” Echoed Mike, “Playing that Davis Cup match in Spain was probably huge for his confidence. He’s turning into a champion in front of our eyes. He’s looking like a top 10er, easily.”
WHO BETTER TO TALK TWINS WITH THAN TWINS?: It’s not often that a 15-time Slam champ opens up and shares his thoughts with you. That’s exactly what happened to the Bryan Bros., who had a late night chat with Roger Federer in Montreal, where the Swiss No. 1 talked about the birth of his twin daughters. “It was midnight and we were all walking out of there and it took about a half-hour to get through the whole lead up to the birth,” recalled Mike. “He’s loving life right now. Twins aren’t easy to raise. My parents had a tough time, but I’m sure he’s got a lot of help. It was probably weighing on his mind earlier in the year. It was a lot of stress for the guy, knowing that his life was going to change that much. A baby’s tough enough, but twins — three times as tough…It was a after a match. He was pretty happy he won, and loose. We were just walking to the training room. He just felt a connection. He was probably pretty emotional. I guess none of the players asked him if he was having two or one.”
THE NUMBERS
3: Years since a player ranked outside the top 250 reached the third round of the USO. American Jesse Witten — ranked No. 276 — accomplished the feat on Thursday when he topped Argentine Maximo Gonzalez at the U.S. Open 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
15 of 19: Three setters won by the upset-minded Melanie Oudin in 2009.
A JAMES BLAKE SAMPLER
“There are not many better feelings in the world than you showing your emotions and 15,000 people feeding off it.” – (after his 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 win over Olivier Rochus on Thursday)
“The U.S. Open is kind of my Super Bowl.”
“A couple more injuries and I might be playing shortstop.” (The Yonkers native is a big-time Mets fan)
QUOTEBOOK
“He’s married to Brooklyn but he’s loved by Queens.” – Chris Fowler on Andy Roddick
“Somewhere in the museum of obsolete athletic skills – home to the spitball, the skyhook and the Statue of Liberty play – a special wing will have to be set aside for tennis. The chip shot and the lob may be there one day, alongside other sadly devalued inventions. There will be glass cases displaying wooden rackets with cow-gut strings, sepia-toned photographs of dapper men in long cotton pants, and, at the center of the exhibit, an interactive screen explaining why, exactly, anyone ever bothered coming to the net.” – Burkhard Bilger
