June 8, 2001 - Top players do not need protection!
The US Open is seriously looking at increasing the number of seeds from 16 to 32, they, along with the television networks do not like upsets.
I think it's wrong, I do not agree with this idea. All golf tournaments used to be match play, until the powers that be decided that the top players need to hang around longer, by heading in that direction, we will open a nasty can of worms. Where will it stop, is 64 seeds next?
If you are a top player, don't lose to number 25 in the world.
Upsets in the first 3 rounds are rare, they do happen, but not as common as the top players winning and moving on to the 2nd week.
16 is elite and should stay, here's a few reasons why:
Tennis is not golf
Less seeds forces the top players to work harder
Less seeds gives more incentive to the lower ranked players and a target to shoot for.
The tournament becomes easier and is diluted.
The unranked players need big wins to get their rankings up and build their their
confidence
The game needs depth and the best way to create it is to give the young players a target and a goal.
The public will know about them when they upset the top players.
With 32 seeds you will have a scenario of a top seed knocking out a lower seed, it's not as news worthy when an
"unseeded" player beats a player of high status.
June 7, 2001 - It's Over!
Martina' Hingis' reign is over, the only chance she had to hold on to her number one ranking slipped away from her without much struggle.
Jennifer Capriati (if she beats Kim Clijsters) will be number the number
one player on the planet, Hingis has an outside chance at staying on top if Kim
upsets Jennifer.
The best case scenario ( for me since I like Hingis) would be a Capriati lost and a win by Hingis at
Wimbledon, but this is far remove and highly unlikely.
I was hoping that Martina would tell the French crowd to go climb a tree - if she so much as
looked at a mark, the beret wearing, bread eating and wine sipping paper tigers would jeer and boo, yes she
messed up a few years ago, they will not let her forget it.
Martina should tell them off, maybe they' ll have
more respect for her. It looks like she's shell shocked and afraid to be the Hingis that she can
be when at Roland Garros.
Jennifer is the darling of tennis and Hingis is not getting any love at all - and being the only non-muscular goliath at the top of the game, she alone is the true tennis player, the others are just overgrown behemoths using cannons instead of
racquets.
Good luck at Wimbledon Martina.
June 6, 2001 - Who's still standing?
Now that the clash of the titans in the quarterfinals is over, it would appear that King Juan Carlos and the zoning Grosjean have the
momentum going into the finals.
They won their matches with ease and flair. JC dispatched Lleyton Hewitt, losing only 7 games. Grosjean after a dismal 1st set quickly turned it all around by losing only 5 games along the way, result Agassi's hopes for a grand slam went up in smoke.
On the women's side, again not too much drama, Hingis's chances on the red clay are the best ever, but the way Jennifer Capriati is striking the ball, I don't see her losing.
I think it will be a Belgium champion this year, I'm looking forward to seeing Justine and Kim battle it out for the finals, I
think the winner of the tournament will com from their half.
Let's just sit back and enjoy the tennis.
June 5, 2001 - Go home you dog!
Here I am watching the French Open albeit at the comfort of my home but wishing just the same that I could be there in person and see the red dirt and the players battling it out for the most demanding tennis/sports trophy on the planet.
Suddenly on my TV screen is Richard Williams in the stands watching his daughter Serena get beat by Jennifer Capriati, while holding his dog, her dog, their dog, a dog just the same!
What made me angry was that this dog had an all access pass wrapped around its neck.
This canine is traveling first class all over the world attending prestigious events, while normal, mortal human beings can only dream about it. I would have liked to be there when the officials typed up the dog's credentials, did they create a special code, or does the dog get the same
privilege and treatment as its owners?
PETA, and animal lovers everywhere, please do not beat me up on this one, I like animals just like the next guy, but there's a limit to the madness, especially since the dog acted like it did not care about its owner.
Serena is getting spanked but yet not one bark of
disappointment and anger. If it was my dog and I was getting abused in that fashion it would have broken loose find his way on the court and bite off my opponent's ankles.
Let's face it Serena's dog is ungrateful!
June 4, 2001 - The clash of the Titans
The 2002 French Open Men's finals features 8 players who can win the whole tournament, proof of the
depth of the men's game has never been more evident.
Kafelnikov vs. Kuerten, (two past champions)
Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero, (the 2 hottest clay court players this year)
Andre Agassi vs. Sebastian Grosjean (former champion and this year's Australian
Open semifinalist)
Roger Federer Alex Corretja (another young hot player vs. a former finalist)
Who will win, it's anyone's guess?
Unfortunately, the women's draw is not as captivating, the only possible dramatic
match is Serena Williams vs. Jennifer Capriati, with the winner taking on Martina Hingis in the semis.
The other side of the draw features a possible semifinal clash between two players from Belgium, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.
I'm hoping for a Clijsters-Hingis final
(c) 1stserve