I arrive on the scene of Free Doubles Thursday at the Open with eleven Facing McEnroe books to deliver to the US Open bookstore and media. John and Patrick McEnroe are just finished playing on old grandstand, as they beat Jimmy Arias and Henri Leconte in front of a pretty big crowd.
Kenneth Raisma of Estonia is playing Riccardo Balzerani of Italy on court 14 and a junior boy is watching from a bleacher. I ask him if he’s scouting to play the winner and he replies that if he wins he will play the winner. He’s a really laid back friendly kid who points out the clock which runs twenty seconds on each point to make sure the server does not stall. It turns out the kid is the number one junior in the world Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
Stefano tells me he grew up and played all his life in Greece. His mom is Russian (and a teaching pro) and his dad is his coach. He hit with Djokovic this summer before Wimbledon at Boodles. I give him a copy of my McEnroe book which he’s happy and grateful to receive. I tell him about my other books about Federer, Nadal, Hewitt, and Rios and he tells me he saw Rios at the match last night. But he’s mixed up, soon realizing it was Guillermo Vilas not Rios.
But his knowledge of interesting tennis facts soon surprises me. Tsitispas says Reilly Opelka recently tied Sam Querrey consecutive ace record of eleven. I knew about Querrey’s record vs Blake in Indy about eight years ago but was not aware that Opelka had equalled the feat.
Tsitsipas is a really nice kid with an easy going demeanor. He is third on 13 and I go watch him play the 14 seed German Marvin Moeller. It’s 6-2 4-2 but then the German who could pass for Goffin’s brother, battles back to 5-5 and 0-40 on the Tsitsipas serve however the graceful Greek with the one hander storms back to win that game and then break Moeller to win in straight.
I met Apostolos Tsitsipas before the match and he was also super friendly and interesting. He thinks there should be a Masters for under 22 year olds and more events for the younger pros to make money. I agree with that idea because myself and most fans want to see the future stars and the young talent rather than pay to see the former stars hobble around and get paid highly, as I was told last week that the Wimbledon seniors events paid out a total of over 700,000 pounds to the players. That’s not fair as most fans would rather see the young players not the aging faded stars who already made their fortunes. The seniors should play for free, to give back, and let the juniors and young pros have more opportunities to make money which is badly needed in some cases considering how expensive coaching and junior career travel can be.
Hingis and Vandeweghe try to challenge the no 1 team in the world Mladenovic and Garcia but they fall well short and lose in straight lets. Kiki is a lioness on the court and has as much charisma and personality as she does brilliant tennis inside her. Such a wonderful player to watch. Garcia is her beta sidekick but also a super talent. The French girls win 63 64.
I watch a little of Chang and Leach vs Philippousis and Cash, the two Americans vs the two hobbled Aussies who both have had a few knee surgeries between them. It’s nice to see but I’d rather watch the fire and fury of the juniors.
Over at the bookstore Rick Rennert tells me that Rod Laver did a book signing last night and sold over 400 copies.
Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez face their fellow Spaniards Guillermo Garcia Lopez and Pablo Carrena Busta in the mens doubles semi but the French Open kings fall to the rag tag team in two close sets on new grandstand. GGL and PCB in the US Open doubles final is possibly the biggest surprise of the Open besides Serena’s loss to Pliskova today.
The last match I saw tonight was Petr Korda’s son Sebi who is either 15 or 16 vs the no 7 seed Yosuki Watanuki. Korda is tall and ultra cool on the court while the Japanese boy is super intense and yells Cmon and YES! and likes to show fist pumps. Watanuki gets the early break but is broken right back. Petr Korda and another coach sit in the fourth row on the far side of the court by the baseline and they are both verbally active compared to the Japanese coaching contingent which is silent.
Kid Korda wallops the ball and has a very nice fluid heavy backhand. His serve is big too, so is his forehand. The kid has it all but I like his poise and cool most of all. Nothing bothers the kid who wins the first set in a tiebreak. Watanuki got really angry on the 2-2 point error and just collapsed after that. Korda broke early in the second set and I left court 17 and without looking I know Korda won this match. I’m going to tell you right now Sebi Korda will be a big time player in a few years.
The grounds were not as crowded as I expected with the well advertised ‘Free Thursday Doubles’ Fan Appreciation event but it was still a good turnout. I gave Facing McEnroe copies to friends Steve Tignor, Steve Flink and Steph Myles of Canada.
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35 comments
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Scoop Malinowski · September 8, 2016 at 11:16 pm
Whoa, Watanuki did win that match vs Korda 67 62 62! Sorry. Other notes: Felix Auger Aliassime is still alive in the doubles and singles. he will play American Patrick Kypson tomorrow, in a rematch of their Eddie Herr first round battle won by Felix. Kypson beat JJ Wolf.
Scoop Malinowski · September 8, 2016 at 11:17 pm
I have Ashe tickets for tomorrow so see you there if anybody from the site will be at the Open.
Hartt · September 9, 2016 at 5:16 am
Thanks, I really enjoyed this article. Someone mentioned Tsitsipas recently so I was interested to learn about him. But his name is even harder to spell than Pospisil’s!
A sports channel aired the Felix Auger-
Aliassime match yesterday, which shows what a big deal Felix is in Canada at the tender age of 16. He played against a 17-year-old Spanish player, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. It’s rare that an opponent has a longer name than Felix’s. 🙂
It was a good match and Felix not only played well but showed considerable composure throughout it. It would be great if he and Ben Sigouin could win the boys doubles, matching what Felix and Shapovalov did last year at the USO juniors.
Todd · September 9, 2016 at 9:03 am
Scoop….love the observations and insights from the outer courts and junior activity. Could not agree with you more on more promotion of the youth in the sport. I have actually had the same idea as Tsitsipas for an annual event with 21 & unders…like a Youth Brigade Cup. Have 3 or 4 spots in a 32-man field go to top juniors, 2 or 3 to top college kids….tennis needs to promote youth the way basketball and football get their youth promoted with the college kids. The casual fan does not realize how impressively a top 17 or 18 yr old plays.
Scoop Malinowski · September 9, 2016 at 9:23 am
Todd it is INCREDIBLE how good these juniors are – Apostolos Tsitsipas told me that if a junior has a weakness it will be exploited ruthlessly but most of these juniors have no weaknesses because they are that good – All of them – then I said even at age 10-12 these kids have no weaknesses which I saw at Eddie Herr in the 12s – Tennis is incredible now and they have to put the old timers like Davenport and Chang and Cash and Leconte on the shelf and get these juniors and young pros a platform to shine on and gain exp – I will now write about this and talk about this endlessly till it happens –
Scoop Malinowski · September 9, 2016 at 9:27 am
Hartt: There several players here with longer names than Felix and yes it is a LOT harder to say and spell than Popsickles 🙂 Tsitsipas is great kid I asked the correct pronunciation of his name and he said it and I repeated it and complimented me that I could say it right the first time because he said even after he says it a lot of people still can’t say it:) the kid has a great sense of humor – These juniors in GSs need to start getting prize $ they are that good –
Hartt · September 9, 2016 at 11:38 am
Yes, it is true that these youngsters are playing at a high level. And I agree that there should be a way to give them more exposure and $. If they aren’t supported by a federation (or have rich parents) I am amazed that the juniors and young pros can even manage to fund participating in tourneys with all the costs involved. If the tennis community wants to have a good supply of up-and-coming talent they need to ensure that the youngsters can afford to play and that the young pros can make a living from tennis.
Today my sports channel is airing the girls juniors match that Bianca Andreescu is playing, so obviously they think there is interest in the top Canadian juniors, and I would expect there would be lots of interest in the US for the top American kids, if there was a platform for them.
catherine bell · September 9, 2016 at 12:55 pm
Just a thought – it strikes me that one of the problems with injecting regular money into junior tennis and tv exposure is the rapid turnover and uncertainty of predictable achievement among young players, which is completely understandable in that age group.
Federations should support promising juniors at a realistic level – whether this support should also be means tested I’m not sure. And then there’s the question, which is perenially raised in UK, at what point is support withdrawn ? And what about young players who may be late developers and fall into the gap between junior and beginning pro careers ?
BTW – just saw Radwanska is getting married. Don’t know if that’s true or not. Interesting development.
🙂
Dan Markowitz · September 9, 2016 at 1:10 pm
Wow, did Serena play poorly or what last night. I know one of the drawbacks of aging is that as an athlete your performance is very erratic. You might play great one match and follow that up with a clunker. Look, Pliskova played well, really well, she serves big and hits a flat hard ball, but she can’t move. If Serena had taken hold of the rallies and moved Pliskova she would’ve had an easier time with her.
Also, how bad a volleyer is Serena? She just brinked some pretty easy volleys. I know she had the knee problems and she fought to the end, but that’s not what you expect from supposedly The Goat and I still think you put Martina N up against her on her best day and she’s going to beat Serena on her best day.
Why do they have the women’s semis at night? Who stayed up to see Kerber-Caro? I know the men play 5-setters, but they’re scheduling of the semis, 330 and afterward, is much more sane.
catherine bell · September 9, 2016 at 1:29 pm
Dan –
Never considered Serena much of a volleyer. Martina was probably volleying in her cradle and BJK when she was still in the womb 🙂
(BJK greatest volleyer of all time IMO)
Hartt · September 9, 2016 at 2:09 pm
Catherine, Aga posted on Facebook that she needs lots of rest before her wedding tomorrow, so it looks like it is true.
As for $ for juniors and young pros, I doubt that TV would be very useful on any regular basis but there are other possibilities. The special tournaments for young players that were suggested here is one idea.
An obvious improvement is to increase the $ for Futures and Challengers. I know they have done a bit of that, but those tourneys had fallen below the rate of inflation so they are still underfunded. Some of the huge profits from the Slams would make a big difference for those tourneys and the $ should not be only for the countries where the Slams take place.
I agree that the federations need to play a big role but not all talented youngsters are from countries with strong federations, so that is just one piece of the puzzle.
Dan Markowitz · September 9, 2016 at 3:50 pm
Monfils should only have to play slam semis against other French players.
Hartt · September 9, 2016 at 4:26 pm
I feel sorry for Monfils’ coach. He must be wondering if it is worth continuing working with him, given this performance (or non-performance).
Thomas Tung · September 9, 2016 at 6:41 pm
What did I tell ya, guys! Monfils is a true mental midget out there … shame, with his athletic talent and big game. But it’s all in the head!
Dan Markowitz · September 9, 2016 at 9:26 pm
You could tell in presser Djoko was not happy with Monfils for acting as if he was dead and then coming back and playing hard. Monfils lost a lot of my interest and support with his performance today. I know it was hot and humid, but he played so listlessly right from the start. It was a total change in energy and passion from his match against Pouille in the quarters.
Dan Markowitz · September 10, 2016 at 7:30 am
You couldn’t give me a ticket to go see Pliskova v Kerber on courtside and I’d go. Seriously, I have zero interest in this match.
Djoko v Wawa though is a great drama match and hopefully high-quality, as besides Pouille-Rafa and I guess Evans-Wawa and Murray-Kei, there hasn’t been any good matches at the Open. What American player played a match of consequence at this year’s Open? I guess there was Izzie-Tiafoe.
But Wawa and not Murray turns out to be the best opponent to test Djoko and Djoko needs this slam to keep his 18-slam possibility alive.
Hartt · September 10, 2016 at 8:34 am
I was talking earlier about some of the long names that junior players have. Today Felix Auger-Aliassime is playing doubles against 2 South American players who each have 4 names! As someone said, how to fit the names on the scoreboard? Benjamin Sigouin, the 4th player, has a short name in comparison. 🙂
Felix will play the No. 1 junior, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the SF today. Am always interested in Felix’s matches but after Scoop’s account of Stefanos, will be following him as well. He turned 18 in August, so wonder how much longer he will play the junior events.
Scoop Malinowski · September 10, 2016 at 8:48 am
Stefanos has one of the most beautiful one handers in the game junior or ATP- it’s like Kuerten’s – one hander afficianados will love it – Hartt: His dad said he will try for ITF no 1 year end and if he has to play Orange Bowl he will – Kid wants to be year end no 1 then will try for Aus Open main draw in 2017 –
Hartt · September 10, 2016 at 9:11 am
Thanks for the update on Stefanos’ plans. Wish I could see his match against Felix today but I cannot get the channel it is being shown on. However, will be following the scores carefully!
Andrew Miller · September 10, 2016 at 11:38 am
Wawrinka becoming best player to see at any tournament. Wonder if we might be talking about the big three plus the significant two when they all make the Hall of fame. Wawrinka as if now cant match Murray in the greatness dept because if Murrays umpteen slam finals and two gold medals, but if he UPS his slam count we may have to say that he more than held his own and threw his hat into the greatness ring.
Andrew Miller · September 10, 2016 at 11:45 am
Yes it will be great to see guys like quinzi play biggest stages. Yeah right. There will always be inequities in tennis as an individual sport. Like the French system the best because focuses on tennis popularity across country versus generating slam champs. They have a happy medium and the sport is always relevant there. Eastern Europe had also upped its tennis relevance . For all we know a lot of future pros may come from India, Asia, etc. Draws filed these days with eastern block and former soviet republic players.
Andrew Miller · September 10, 2016 at 11:51 am
Maybe tennis at grass roots in states has really suffered. Tiaf is a great example but he’s a bit like Yunes el a, being at an academy almost by sheer luck. I’d love to see an initiative around champs in public parks where say Agassi and Sampras hit on a court near u etc.
Doogie · September 10, 2016 at 1:12 pm
Today a 17teen year old kid is playing challenger final in Spain on clay! Son of Christian Ruud of Norway.
Image one 17een US Boy would reach the final. Would he be the next big thing??
In Europe we know how difficult it is to reach top level that we dont even talk about the next superstar.
Scoop Malinowski · September 10, 2016 at 1:41 pm
Caspar Ruud is a very good prospect – I saw Caspar Ruud play the last two years at Eddie Herr and spoke with his father – trains in Spain for years – he is definitely one to keep an eye on – Tsitsipas lost first set but is up break in second set vs Felix –
Scoop Malinowski · September 10, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Felix won 64 75 – that kid is really really good-big serving (with second serves – ace and two non returnables all on second serves in the last service by Felix) to close it out – these top juniors are very high quality talents – Tough loss for Tsitsipas but he is a special talent too –
Hartt · September 10, 2016 at 2:21 pm
Am so excited that Felix won, especially against such a tough opponent! He has doubles today as well. He and Denis Shapovalov won the doubles here last year. Denis is not playing juniors now, but Felix has a shot at winning the doubles again.
Hope he is not too exhausted after his singles match.
Hartt · September 10, 2016 at 2:33 pm
Andrew, Tennis Canada is trying to find that balance between growing the popularity of the sport in the general public as well as producing some top players. They see a big upside of Canadian players doing well – it is a way of getting youngsters excited about the game. (As well as encouraging regular folks to get out to play and to follow tennis).
They copied a lot of the French system, even bringing in some of the French development people to improve the system here. With a relatively small population and limited funds, they have had considerable success in just a few years. One big test was producing (or assisting) some top juniors such as Auger-Aliassime and Bianca Andreescu.
They claim tennis popularity has increased substantially in Canada but I think that must be hard to measure accurately.
Andrew Miller · September 10, 2016 at 2:38 pm
Just don’t pay much attention to juniors, see Quinzi. As good as they all are, it’s a fools errand predicting who will be great in the pros, we see this over and over and over and over. We see it on the women’s tour too – so many predictions on who could be the next Serena Williams. Guess what? THERE IS NO NEXT SERENA! She came out of a specific place & time, and avoided juniors once she hit what, age 10? Capriati was off of the juniors at age 13 or so. Seles on the tour full time at 14.
Point is that players always need to prove themselves at the pro level – that’s the bar. Yes, they have to play players who are often stronger with better games and far more experience. If the juniors games match up, all the better.
We can’t even say that the US college system helps make better pros – there’s no evidence for that either. Steve Johnson and Isner are freaks . John McEnroe was a super freak!
Scoop Malinowski · September 10, 2016 at 9:56 pm
Felix is the type of shining and glowing talent that he has the potential to be a historic player – that’s all I will say – Tsitsipas is right there too – The other two Sfits Watanabe and Kecmanovic are no slouches either – the most entertaining were the doubles winners meligeni and aguilar – those guys were emotional tigers out there – so fun to see those two – these juniors deserve to be paid instead of seniors –
Hartt · September 11, 2016 at 8:20 am
Wow, Scoop, that is high praise indeed. I am on tenderhooks waiting for today’s junior final.
Thanks to your reporting on Tsitsipas I am following him now. He sounds like a great kid as well as a very talented one.
Scoop Malinowski · September 11, 2016 at 9:02 am
Tsitsipas just turned 18 in Aug – Felix is just 16 and he still looks very young and like a kid – the world better watch out when he grows into full physical capacity – WOW at that prospect –
Dan Markowitz · September 12, 2016 at 3:15 pm
Why is SteveJo a freak? He’s got a live arm, but talent-wise or physical strength-wise, I wouldn’t call him a freak. Qball probably more of a freak than SteveJO.
Andrew Miller · September 12, 2016 at 4:20 pm
SteveJo a freak because he got to USmens #1 as a college graduate. Unless you are 6’10”, which other college player has made a mark? The usual suspects here at John Isner and Kevin Anderson – but they have the Karlovic factor going for them in the serving department.
Andrew Miller · September 12, 2016 at 4:24 pm
SteveJo is “most decorated college player ever” – he’s a freak. He’s just not a normal college player or even a normal college champion. He’s not like some past college players – but who else has 4 NCAA team titles, 2 NCAA individual titles, and a 72 match streak in college (which no one has matched?).
Scoop Malinowski · September 12, 2016 at 6:53 pm
Johnson ruled NCAA tennis like Federer and Sampras and Djokovic ruled the ATP and Serena ruled the WTA – all dominant super champions are freaks. Hall of Fame trainer said the same thing about super champions in boxing, they are not normal, they are freaks. So yes Johnson was a freak as a college player because he won so abnormally much.