There’s Ryan Harrison in the corner watching some of the second set of Young vs. Russell. He’s on next against Ruben Bemelmans. A fan asks for a photo and Harrison nicely says, “Sure”, and poses with him. Harrison has all the qualities of a future star.
Right behind Harrison on the practice court is David Goffin, in all white. Istomin is one court down.
Harrison survived a long, frustrating three setter vs. lefty Bemelmans, who impressed super fan Lou Noritz. Noritz insists that Bemelmans can reach the top 30 someday. Dan, Lou and myself were commenting that Bemelmans reminds us of Dolgopolov and Lopez with also a touch of Nicolas Escude. The Belgian is a very nice player to watch. After his narrow win over Bemelmans, Harrison slowly jogged a couple of laps around the three practice courts minus shirt.
Goffin was up 4-1 today vs. qualifier Benjamin Becker but he lost the match and later was seen walking down Bellevue Ave. by himself back to the Viking Hotel. Tough day for Goffin, the rising star, he also lost in doubles 10-8 in the superbreaker with Rochus to Muller/Bogomolov. Muller’s forehand volley was the match winner.
By the way, I did a Biofile with Goffin yesterday after the first set of Harrison-Bemelmans. A superb Biofile, you’re gonna enjoy it.
Team Sock, Jack and his lookalike brother Eric and another guy are in the stadium looking over watching the end of Querrey-Bogomolov, won by Q-Ball in two close sets 75 76. Sock is huge these days, looks like a college football tight end.
Hewitt played doubles with his buddy Chris Guccione on Monday and it was on an outer court, which drew a huge throng of fans, the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in four years around an outer court. Started talking to a couple of Hewitt fans, one guy was a produce manager from South Mass named Bill, he was wearing a Yonex cap. The other was a gent named Conrad, he had on one of those Pat Cash headbands under his Nike cap. Hewitt’s pal and coach Peter Luczak was sitting a couple of feet away and seemed to enjoy our reminiscing about the good ol’ days of Hewitt.
Hewitt’s here with his wife and three kids, it’s his first time in Newport since he was 17. One of Hewitt’s sons was wearing a Star Wars shirt. A Jamiacan woman named Charmaine Rousseau showed me some photos she got with Hewitt, Guccione, Rochus. I snapped a couple for her with Goffin. She also had some photos with Courier, Bud Collins and Sam Querrey from a few years back. Rousseau is a superfan who lives in Providence and attends Newport every year for a few days.
Big Todd Martin strode by the locker room area on Monday in full Wilson attire, looks like he just came off the court from his touring pro gig at the Newport Beach Club. Martin made a friendly comment that he “almost didn’t recognize” me without my trademark fedora and gave me an answer to the first famous tennis pro he ever encountered? “There was a handful of them, I ballboyed at a tournament in Lake Erie. In the late 70’s, probably in 78 or 79. Actually in both 78 and 79. And the guys that were really nice to me Erik Van Dillen and Dick Stockton, I also ballboyed for Gene Mayer and Victor Amaya.”
Martin will play an exo with soon-to-be inducted Hall of Famer Gustavo Kuerten on Sunday.
Tuesday afternon, perfect Sunny afternoon, Jesse Levine is out standing watching some of Muller-Van Der Merwe, which is being played on a court that looks like a football game was played on, it’s all torn up. Both players are visibly upset about the condition of the court. They have split sets and are just starting the third set.
I look out the window now and there’s Ryan Harrison doing some lunge stretch moves raising an arm with a coach. Yesterday after Ryan’s win, I saw his brother out the window on the same spot, by himself playing some shadow tennis. Christian Harrison is here still though he lost in the first round of qualies.
Nicolas Mahut just ran the length of three courts twice at about 75 full speed. He’s getting ready to tangle in doubles with partner Lukas Dlouhy against John Paul Fruttero and Denis Istomin.
Harrison is now hitting with Trent Conrad Huey, a crowd of about 20 are watching. I think Huey won the last tiebreak they played, 7-5 on a service winner. Huey has a big lefty serve.
Rajeev Ram is doing a cooling down job after his match with Grega Zemlja while talking on the phone at the same time.
Greg Sharko just told the media, Americans were 5-0 today (Tuesday).
Newport is a special place. This is my fourth year here and I like this place more every year I come.
No tags
dan markowitz · July 10, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Scoop,
No wonder I can’t find you to play tennis with, you’re all over the grounds. Is pretty touching, Hewitt’s wife, Bec, reading to the two youngest Hewitt’s kids on the porch outside the press roomm.
Harrison is now doing footwork drills on the practice courts here. It looks like he’s gotten heavier and he doesn’t look the fleetest of foot. I always thought his foot speed was one of his greatest assets, but I wonder if like Roddick, he’s gotten too big. We saw him jogging after his match last night without his shirt on and he looked heavy in the chest.
Interesting, that both Harrison and Raonic have had to work hard and just eked out first round wins here. Some guys like Phillipoussis, Santoro and Rochus get it right away about how to play here and other guys like Murray, Blake and Querrey have a hard time. Raonic, who played an exo with his idol, Sampras, last year in Montreal, says what Pete told him he’s trying to implement, “Whatever happens during a match, find a way to win.” Look for my full interview with Raonic on Tennis.com this weekend.
Hewitt looks fit so it should be fun to see how he fares here. He’s got all his Aussie mates with him and Peter Luczak even had a footie ball with him.
Scoop Malinowski · July 10, 2012 at 9:16 pm
Dan I was out watching Fruttero/Istomin in doubles (they won) and Matosevic vs. Levine, Levine is winning, Marinko is unhappy, yelling “I hate this place!” Also got to talk with some tennis fans, a nice lady Dina from Texas and Thailand, and also a father of a very sharp junior Gary Brach. That was cool Dan coming up the steps to the media room and there is Hewitt getting a hug and kiss from his wife as he departed to take center court to play Pospisil. Only in Newport. There’s Fruttero on the phone kicking a tennis ball around on the P court, Billy Idol blonde hair, muscles, sleevless, gotta look up his numbers and stats, haven’t seen his name in years. Isner just ran by Fruttero loosening up just minutes after he beat Bubka 64 in the third.
Scoop Malinowski · July 10, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Hewitt just pulverizing Pospisil 61 30.
Scoop Malinowski · July 10, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Greg Sharko of the ATP just told me Marinko Matosevic wants a copy of my Marcelo Rios book because Rios was his favorite player. Marinko lost to Jesse Levine today but I hope to get him a copy tomorrow.
Steve · July 11, 2012 at 12:23 pm
How’s the town? Would you visit when there’s no tourney going on?
Dan Markowitz · July 11, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Absolutely great town, Steve. It is a peaceful place: ocean, beaches, ocean and bay, old movie theater from the 19th century where I introduced Scoop the other night to the unusual movie-making of Wes Anderson in the flick, “Moonrise Kingom.”
Great old houses built in the 18th century and then you have all the mansions on Bellevue. There’s the Cliff Walk, which is like a 1-hour walk along the ocean’s edge and you see some of the mansions from the back. I love Newport because when I get there, I park my car at the B&B, and then go all around on my bike. Also, a very good tennis-playing town with 4 courts behind the Hall of Fame casino and then like 10 courts up at St. George’s Prep School. And then it’s got its funky, little raw, edgy artistic side, too. Lot of good-looking people walking around enjoying themselves. It’s an island, too, what’s not to like about an island?
Andrew Miller · July 11, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Interesting about Hewitt being back. He hadn’t played since age 17, now he’s nearly 2x and brings his kids – pretty cool, actually. I wonder if Murray may do the same – in 12 years or so, make a final stop through Newport so his kids can see him play at a place he was once a kid on tour himself.
Ha Fruttero! I watched him play in DC in 2002, he hit as hard as possible and was serving in the high 120s, low 130s.
Watching Fruttero I thought man, the future of the U.S. ATP tennis has arrived. Of course, I was wrong.
He had not yet graduated from Cal. I thought sheesh, why doesn’t the USTA invest in this player – with that serve and sharpen up the movement a little, and I think you have a player.
He beat Sampras in 2006 (in World Team Tennis, four years after Sampras retired).
Not sure what happened in his situation. Fruttero may have fallen into the “U.S. players that are great (top 10) in the NCAAs who don’t catch much of a break whatsoever in the pros”
He hit the pulp out of the ball. I felt sorry for the ball.
From some googling, Fruttero won the USTA 16s and beat Fish in 1999 (age 18), and seemed pretty poised for some breakthroughs later on. I am sure Fruttero knows more and maybe worth asking him!
Unfortunately it seems there was more to Fruttero (see ITF case, http://www.itftennis.com/shared/medialibrary/pdf/original/IO_30588_original.PDF ), which may be why he did not see more of a breakthrough. According to one chat board:
“John Paul Fruttero was banned for a year for a while back because he and his doctor scoured the banned list for the name of the drug the doctor wanted to give him and didn’t find it. The drug was listed under the name commonly used in Europe, not the one used in the US”
Dan Markowitz · July 11, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Thanks, Andrew. I, too, was fascinated watching Fruttero play doubles yesterday. He and Istomin beat Dlouhy and Mahut. And Fruttero was clearly the weakest link, but entertaining, high-energy, big serve, had his hair dyed bleach blond and wore a Nike tank t-shirt that looked like it came off Stanley Kowalski’s bod.
At one point, he missed a backhand and said in a clear, calm voice, “Son of a biscuit” and some people in the gallery found that real funny. Saw him after match, walking out with big icepack on his knee.
Andrew Miller · July 11, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Ha that is funny! Too bad, Dan – U.S. tennis could use a Fruttero doing well. I liked Rostagno and some of the other U.S. players – at any moment they could either beat Sampras or bow out to an unknown.
Michael · July 12, 2012 at 3:10 am
Nice photo of Dan and Scoop.
You lucky dogs. There is no such thing as a bad tennis tournament. These smaller tourneys are great fun.
Speaking of Hewitts, you might want to ask the folks at the HOF how the investigation is going with respect to alleged serial molester Bob Hewitt.
Scoop Malinowski · July 12, 2012 at 6:14 pm
I did a Biofile with John Paul Fruttero and it’s FANTASTIC can’t wait to post.