The state of American tennis was discussed on last night’s edition of HBO’s “Real Sports,” with HBO's Jon Frankel saying tennis in the U.S. "is suffering its biggest drought in 40 years," as it has been "eight years since an American man won a Grand Slam and on the women’s side, barely a handful of players not named Venus or Serena have even cracked the top 100 recently." Tennis analyst John McEnroe said, “We’ve done just about everything wrong. We’ve stood on our heels and sort of waited to see what would happen next. We haven’t been proactive in trying to get people into the sport. But there are a lot of people out there trying to get at the reasons why we’re starting to fade.” Patrick McEnroe, John's brother, serves as the USTA Player Development GM, and he said, “If we sit around and wait for the next Pete Sampras, then what are we doing? That’s just a needle in a haystack. I’m not willing to do that.” Frankel noted the U.S. until recently "managed to produce a steady stream of top players through private channels." However, Patrick McEnroe "decided to do something about it" when the number of top American players began to decline. But John McEnroe “thinks Patrick’s USTA approach is wrong,” which is why he has opened his own private tennis academy “where he can do things his way.” John McEnroe: “We’ve got to figure out a way to make this game more sexy for kids that are growing up to want to do this." Following the taped report, Frankel was asked by HBO’s Bryant Gumbel about the USTA not producing “one elite player” and whether that is "what the USTA is supposed to do.” Frankel: “I don’t think it was their responsibility before. But in 2008, when they looked at the rest of the world and what some of the other countries were doing with their federations, they said, ‘Okay, yes, this is what we’re going to do now because there is a void’” (“Real Sports,” HBO, 8/16).
SHOWING THE SEEDS SOME LOVE? ESPN's "Outside The Lines" Monday examined the computer system and procedures used to determine the random draw at the U.S. Open, and ESPN's David Lloyd said some of the "supposed chance pairing" are being questioned. ESPN's Paula Lavigne reports the draws for all four Grand Slam events are "supposed to be random,” but a study of the past 10 years “shows that at the U.S. Open, the top two men’s and women’s seeds faced easier opening-round opponents on average than is statistically probable in a truly random draw." That pattern was not found at the other Grand Slams. USTA Pro Circuit Dir Brian Earley asked, “What would the U.S. Open gain by fixing a draw in this way? I think the U.S. Open would gain nothing.” USTA Managing Dir of Corporate Communications Chris Widmaier said, “In sports and in everyday life, there are these anomalies that happen” (“Outside The Lines,” ESPN, 8/15).
CULT OF PERSONALITY: Tennis player Andy Roddick was penalized Monday night for ball and racquet abuse, and later indicated players cannot express any emotion without receiving a penalty. ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said Roddick makes a “really good point about the color of tennis and the lack of it now” (“PTI,” ESPN, 8/16). Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw said the game "could use a little more life and a little more color at times.” However, ESPN's Michael Smith said, “You’re losing ratings because there’s nobody worth watching because people like Andy Roddick cannot make good on promises and be good American players. Why watch tennis nowadays if you’re an American?" (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 8/16).
