Sports: 2006 US Tennis Open

[ASNL77]

End of the road for Andre Agassi. Big champion on and off the court. Great guy!

[P.L.M]

My ratings:

1 Wimbledon (and by far): There is so much tradition and history in that stadium. Spectators are so respectuous too unlike what I saw during the game Agassi-Baghdatis where the behaviour of some spectators towards the Cypriot guy was frankly appaling.

2 French Open

3 US Open (far behind the first two)

4 Australia: Catching up but still not as popular as the other three.

The best way to measure the importance of these tournaments is to ask the players and apart from the American players 90% of the players place Wimbledon or the French at the top.

My take exactly.

US OPEN is far behind the two for me to as you stated.

The amount of noise in the US OPEN and the behaviour of the spectators, has you also stated, is frankly unbearable and should not tolerate in a GRAND SLAM tournament.

[ASNL77]

My ratings:

1 Wimbledon (and by far): There is so much tradition and history in that stadium. Spectators are so respectuous too unlike what I saw during the game Agassi-Baghdatis where the behaviour of some spectators towards the Cypriot guy was frankly appaling.

2 French Open

3 US Open (far behind the first two)

4 Australia: Catching up but still not as popular as the other three.

The best way to measure the importance of these tournaments is to ask the players and apart from the American players 90% of the players place Wimbledon or the French at the top.

My take exactly.

US OPEN is far behind the two for me to as you stated.

The amount of noise in the US OPEN and the behaviour of the spectators, has you also stated, is frankly unbearable and should not tolerate in a GRAND SLAM tournament.

It sounds a bit like they are playing tennis in the garden of a massive Mc Donalds restaurant by an airport.

[Dan Gould]

My ratings:

1 Wimbledon (and by far): There is so much tradition and history in that stadium. Spectators are so respectuous too unlike what I saw during the game Agassi-Baghdatis where the behaviour of some spectators towards the Cypriot guy was frankly appaling.

2 French Open

3 US Open (far behind the first two)

4 Australia: Catching up but still not as popular as the other three.

The best way to measure the importance of these tournaments is to ask the players and apart from the American players 90% of the players place Wimbledon or the French at the top.

My take exactly.

US OPEN is far behind the two for me to as you stated.

The amount of noise in the US OPEN and the behaviour of the spectators, has you also stated, is frankly unbearable and should not tolerate in a GRAND SLAM tournament.

It sounds a bit like they are playing tennis in the garden of a massive Mc Donalds restaurant by an airport.

So what have we learned? Europeans hate the Open and Americans don't have much respect for Roland Garros.

BFD.

I'm guessing that people who love clay court tennis don't give a rat's ass about appalling crowd behavior as long as its DAVIS CUP. Only if its GRAND SLAM is it "unbearable".

And that is an APPALLING double standard.

Edited September 3, 2006 by Dan Gould

[Van Basten II]

Very emotive moments in what will be the last hurrah for Agassi, game by itself was subpar, but the reaction by the crowd was priceless.

[P.L.M]

I'm guessing that people who love clay court tennis don't give a rat's ass about appalling crowd behavior as long as its DAVIS CUP. Only if its GRAND SLAM is it "unbearable".

And that is an APPALLING double standard.

You guess wrong, friend.

The modern DAVIS CUP is all about NATION against NATION.

Not really about tennis.

Long time that I've stop to watch the DAVIS CUP or any tennis competition of that sort.

Because tennis is one of the rare sport where it's usual (and GOOD!) that fan support a player for his GAME and not for his NATIONALITY.

Through the time, I've been fan of KEN ROSWALL, TONY ROCHE, JOHN NEWCOMBE, MANUEL ORANTES, ARTHUR ASHE, JOHN McENROE, STEPHAN EDBERG, PETE SAMPRAS and, today, ROGER FEDERER, to name some.

None of my "TRIBU", here. And very few EUROPEANS.

So, I don't see here where your "APPALLING DOUBLE STANDARD HERE" apply.

This thought of yours seems to say more about you than about me, I'm afraid.

Edited September 3, 2006 by P.L.M

[Dan Gould]

I'm guessing that people who love clay court tennis don't give a rat's ass about appalling crowd behavior as long as its DAVIS CUP. Only if its GRAND SLAM is it "unbearable".

And that is an APPALLING double standard.

You guess wrong, friend.

The modern DAVIS CUP is all about NATION against NATION.

Not really about tennis.

Long time that I've stop to watch the DAVIS CUP or any tennis competition of that sort.

Because tennis is one of the rare sport where it's usual (and GOOD!) that fan support a player for his GAME and not for his NATIONALITY.

Through the time, I've been fan of KEN ROSWALL, TONY ROCHE, JOHN NEWCOMBE, MANUEL ORANTES, ARTHUR ASHE, JOHN McENROE, STEPHAN EDBERG, PETE SAMPRAS and, today, ROGER FEDERER, to name some.

None of my "TRIBU", here. And very few EUROPEANS.

So, I don't know where your "APPALLING DOUBLE STANDARD HERE" apply here, to say the least.

Let me spell it out then:

You think that the behaviour of US fans at Flushing Meadow is somehow horrible.

I watch clay court Davis Cup matches in which fan behaviour is beyond anything seen at the US Open, and beyond anything seen in any other Davis Cup tie.

Shitty behavior is shitty behavior anywhere. And you may not be one, but there are plenty of clay court fans who think the US Open is a zoo but won't hesitate to heave coins at the heads of opponents.

[P.L.M]

Shitty behavior is shitty behavior anywhere. And you may not be one, but there are plenty of clay court fans who think the US Open is a zoo but won't hesitate to heave coins at the heads of opponents.

I've stated my point.

What's your problem?

I supposed that there is lot of GRASS FANS or fans of any kind of others SURFACES who can also "heave coins at the head of opponents".

I suppose that this kind of beahaving is not particular to CLAY COURT'S FAN ONLY unless it's a kind of SICKNESS that just touch that particular kind of FAN.

If it's the case nevee heard about the sickness in question.

Edited September 3, 2006 by P.L.M

[Dan Gould]

Shitty behavior is shitty behavior anywhere. And you may not be one, but there are plenty of clay court fans who think the US Open is a zoo but won't hesitate to heave coins at the heads of opponents.

I've stated my point.

What's your problem?

I supposed that there is lot of GRASS FANS or fans of any kind of others SURFACES who can also "heave coins at the head of opponents".

I suppose that this kind of beahaving is not particular to CLAY COURT'S FAN ONLY unless it's a kind of SICKNESS that just touch that particular kind of FAN.

If it's the case nevee heard about the sickness in question.

And I've acknowledged that you are not one of those fans.

But any observer of tennis knows that the worst crowd behaviour, by far, comes in the clay court countries of Europe and Latin America. I'd say its related to soccer fan behaviour but some of the worst of the hooligans in that sport are British ... maybe the worst hooligans elsewhere aren't quite so discriminating in what they root for.

But no, I know of no cases where fans outside of clay courts act in the worst way imaginable. And it utterly puts to shame any supposed violation of ettiquette by US fans at Flushing Meadows.

That is what is ticking me off. You want to say the tournament sucks because it was built on the flight path of one of the busiest international airports in the world? Fine. But I don't understand any bitching about the behavior of the fans.

[ASNL77]

Oops. I didn't intend to provoke such a heated debate. I have explained my reasons for putting Wimbledon first followed by the French Open. My ratings have nothing to do with my nationality although I was brought up watching the French open since I was four or five. But I believe my arguments are valid and that most players would agree with me.

The French crowd are no way near as well behaved as the British spectators ( especially when a French player is on the court) but they would appreciate and applaud a good performance by a non French player. This is exactly what annoyed me with the crowd of Agassi-Baghdatis and Agassi-Becker today. The guy from Cyprus had a fantastic match and came up with some amazing shots but his shots were ignored and he was booed for having cramps!

The other reason why I prefer Roland Garros is the unpredictibilty of the outcome of a match. It is also impossible to predict the winner of the tournament. (Unlike the US Open and even more in London). To me this is why the French is so exciting and special.

The third criteria is the spectacular rallies and the possibility for players with a weaker serve to stand a chance to win a match. A guy like Santoro who may be completely unknow in the US is a tactical magician I could watch play on the clay for days and days and days. He managed to beat Safin on a numerous of occasions by dominating him tactically and by varying his shots. All that with a very weak serve.This makes the French Open more exciting than any other slam.

There is no intention on my behalf to criticize the US Open or to put it down. I am a tennis fan and I enjoy this tournament a lot. But I can't sense the history and tradition that you can feel at Wimbledon. The spectators do not seem to be real connoisseurs of the game, hence all this noise in the stand and walking around when players try to get on with the game.

To finish, I agree with you Dan when you say that spectators in South America or Southern Europe often go too far to defend their players in the Davis Cup ties but this is not something you would see in any of the four slam tournaments.

Anyway, each of these tournaments has a special flavour and this is what makes them special. All the other tournaments have become very similar and this is not helping the popularity of tennis. Apart from these four big occasions, tennis has become a bit boring and this is something the tennis federation should tackle.

My last point is to everybody. We all have different views and that is why there is a forum to express them.

Edited September 3, 2006 by ASNL77

[Dan Gould]

Oops. I didn't intend to provoke such a heated debate. I have explained my reasons for putting Wimbledon first followed by the French Open. My ratings have nothing to do with my nationality although I was brought up watching the French open since I was four or five. But I believe my arguments are valid and that most players would agree with me.

The French crowd are no way near as well behaved as the British spectators ( especially when a French player is on the court) but they would appreciate and applaud a good performance by a non French player. This is exactly what annoyed me with the crowd of Agassi-Baghdatis and Agassi-Becker today. The guy from Cyprus had a fantastic match and came up with some amazing shots but his shots were ignored and he was booed for having cramps!

The other reason why I prefer Roland Garros is the unpredictibilty of the outcome of a match. It is also impossible to predict the winner of the tournament. (Unlike the US Open and even more in London). To me this is why the French is so exciting and special.

The third criteria is the spectacular rallies and the possibility for players with a weaker serve to stand a chance to win a match. A guy like Santoro who may be completely unknow in the US is a tactical magician I could watch play on the clay for days and days and days. He managed to beat Safin on a numerous of occasions by dominating him tactically and by varying his shots. All that with a very weak serve.This makes the French Open more exciting than any other slam.

There is no intention on my behalf to criticize the US Open or to put it down. I am a tennis fan and I enjoy this tournament a lot. But I can't sense the history and tradition that you can feel at Wimbledon. The spectators do not seem to be real connoisseurs of the game, hence all this noise in the stand and walking around when players try to get on with the game.

To finish, I agree with you Dan when you say that spectators in South America or Southern Europe often go too far to defend their players in the Davis Cup ties but this is not something you would see in any of the four slam tournaments.

Anyway, each of these tournaments has a special flavour and this is what makes them special. All the other tournaments have become very similar and this is not helping the popularity of tennis. Apart from these four big occasions, tennis has become a bit boring and this is something the tennis federation should tackle.

My last point is to everybody. We all have different views and that is why there is a forum to express them.

Yves, thanks for your comments.

I did not watch enough of the Baghdatis match to judge, but my Mom and Dad did watch it through to the end. Their honest opinion was that Baghdatis wasn't cramping but was actually trying a little gamesmanship. As I say, I didn't see enough, but when I heard about the cramps and then saw that he took Agassi to 7-5 in the fifth, I honestly wondered how bad those cramps could have been.

Anyway, I think a special exception has to be made given the situation of this match, Agassi's last hurrah - it could have been the Pope hitting winners on the other side of the court, and the crowd would have booed.

And for what its worth, I agree with you when you say there isn't a great sense of tradition there ... but I still love the way the fans get behind players and scream and yell for them. Definitely the toughest environment to play in, that's for sure.

[P.L.M]

I did not watch enough of the Baghdatis match to judge, but my Mom and Dad did watch it through to the end. Their honest opinion was that Baghdatis wasn't cramping but was actually trying a little gamesmanship.

It's his CRAMPS that make him lose the match, brother!

It happens when they was at 5/5.

"Their honest opinion" just sound to me like a LITTLE biase, to say the least.

Or they didn't look the same match as me.

As I say, I didn't see enough, but when I heard about the cramps and then saw that he took Agassi to 7-5 in the fifth, I honestly wondered how bad those cramps could have been.

Like I wrote, his cramps start at the very end of the five set. Our could you "HONESTLY wondered how bad those cramps could have been" as you don't seem to know WHEN HE GETS THE CRAMPS.

Seems that your parents forget to tell you "HONESTLY" the whole story.

And as the guy was EUROPEAN and LATIN, he could only "trying a little gamesmanship".

What else. This LATIN peoples are all the same: cheater by nature.

[Quincy]

I did not watch enough of the Baghdatis match to judge, but my Mom and Dad did watch it through to the end. Their honest opinion was that Baghdatis wasn't cramping but was actually trying a little gamesmanship.

It's his CRAMPS that make him lose the match, brother!

It was noted during the match by the commentators that (I believe it was) Patrick McEnroe happened to be nearby on Baghdatis's side of the court and reported seeing the muscle(s) twitching during the cramping.

It was painful to watch!

Edited September 4, 2006 by Quincy

[connoisseur series500]

I don't watch much tennis anymore, but I always disliked the fans behavior at the US Open. Embarassing....

[Dan Gould]

I did not watch enough of the Baghdatis match to judge, but my Mom and Dad did watch it through to the end. Their honest opinion was that Baghdatis wasn't cramping but was actually trying a little gamesmanship.

It's his CRAMPS that make him lose the match, brother!

It happens when they was at 5/5.

"Their honest opinion" just sound to me like a LITTLE biase, to say the least.

Or they didn't look the same match as me.

WRONG.

From the NY Times:

With Agassi serving at 4-4, 40-30 in the fifth set, Baghadatis, who had already erased a two-set deficit, stretched wide at the net and hit a forehand volley winner and immediately began cramping. He hopped. He hobbled. He grabbed at his legs and ultimately ended up flat on his back on the hard court in considerable pain.

[P.L.M]

WRONG.

From the NY Times:

With Agassi serving at 4-4, 40-30 in the fifth set, Baghadatis, who had already erased a two-set deficit, stretched wide at the net and hit a forehand volley winner and immediately began cramping. He hopped. He hobbled. He grabbed at his legs and ultimately ended up flat on his back on the hard court in considerable pain.

Oh sorry. I made a mistake. I WAS WRONG, YOU ARE RIGHT: it was AT 4/4 that the incident takes place NOT AT 5/5

Next time I 'll check better my fact, as your serious self do, obviously.

That doesn't change nothing, by the way.

BAGHDATIS was on his way to win, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION AS TV A SPECTATOR OF THE MATCH.

Don't know why he would put a "little gamesmanship" at a moment where he was obviously the stronger player on the court.

He looses the first point of the following game with a double fault because he was unable to serve correctly, a consequence of the CRAMPS he gets just before.

By the way, The NY TIME seems to acknowledge the FACT THAN BAGHDATIS was suffering FROM CRAMPS.

Thanks to have clear this point, at last

So it seems that your parents was WRONG, aniway.

And you, who didn't WITNESS THIS PART OF THE MATCH, definitively WRONG with them.

Edited September 4, 2006 by P.L.M

[Dan Gould]

WRONG.

From the NY Times:

With Agassi serving at 4-4, 40-30 in the fifth set, Baghadatis, who had already erased a two-set deficit, stretched wide at the net and hit a forehand volley winner and immediately began cramping. He hopped. He hobbled. He grabbed at his legs and ultimately ended up flat on his back on the hard court in considerable pain.

Oh sorry. I made a mistake. I WAS WRONG, YOU ARE RIGHT: it was AT 4/4 that the incident takes place NOT AT 5/5

Next time I 'll check better my fact, as your serious self do, obviously.

That doesn't change nothing, by the way.

BAGHDATIS was on his way to win, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION AS TV A SPECTATOR OF THE MATCH.

Don't know why he would put a "little gamesmanship" at a moment where he was obviously the stronger player on the court.

He looses the first point of the following game with a double fault because he was unable to serve correctly, a consequence of the CRAMPS he gets just before.

By the way, The NY TIME seems to acknowledge the FACT THAN BAGHDATIS was suffering FROM CRAMPS.

Thanks to have clear this point, at last

So it seems that your parents was WRONG, aniway.

And you, who didn't WITNESS THIS PART OF THE MATCH, definitively WRONG with them.

Ah, we finally stumble across the heart of the matter:

You, a European, were rooting for another European. You can't stand the behavior of US Open crowds simply because it hurt your European player's feelings and he just couldn't handle it. Boo fucking hoo.

Cramps are a part of the game - this is a valid excuse when you're playing a 36 year old with a degenerative back condition who doesn't cramp? Boo fucking hoo.

[P.L.M]

Ah, we finally stumble across the heart of the matter:

You, a European, were rooting for another European. You can't stand the behavior of US Open crowds simply because it hurt your European player's feelings and he just couldn't handle it. Boo fucking hoo.

Cramps are a part of the game - this is a valid excuse when you're playing a 36 year old with a degenerative back condition who doesn't cramp? Boo fucking hoo.

I don't know what permit you to say such a thing.

I was "ROOTING" for no one.

Are you completely stupid or are you only playing to be so?

Or is it so difficult to admit that you have no argument here and try (seems a great speciality of yours) to take the conversation on ANOTHER GROUND AGAIN?

A bit of both, maybe?

Edited September 5, 2006 by P.L.M

[Dan Gould]

Ah, we finally stumble across the heart of the matter:

You, a European, were rooting for another European. You can't stand the behavior of US Open crowds simply because it hurt your European player's feelings and he just couldn't handle it. Boo fucking hoo.

Cramps are a part of the game - this is a valid excuse when you're playing a 36 year old with a degenerative back condition who doesn't cramp? Boo fucking hoo.

I don't know what permit you to say such a thing.

I wasn't "ROOTING" for nobody.

Are you completely stupid or are you only playing to be so?

Or is it so difficult to admit that you have no argument here and try (seems a great speciality of yours) to take the conversation on ANOTHER GROUND AGAIN?

A bit of both, maybe?

Yeah right. You BITCH about cramps and you BITCH about the fans.

BOO HOO.

[P.L.M]

Please, somebody could call for an ambulance?

The guy has no ARGUMENT OF ANY SORT, here, and it seems the situation is driving him mad.

Poor fellow.

Edited September 5, 2006 by P.L.M

[Claude]

Amazing performance from Youzhny against Nadal. Only one game to go ...

[Dan Gould]

Well, Henin-Hardenne got a gift from her opponent, but now she has to face Sharapova, who looks primed to finally win another Slam.

I know I'll be rooting for her, not only cuz she's really good and awful but also because I lost all respect for Henin-Hardenne a few years back when, iirc, she was playing one of the Williams sisters, who held her hand up that she wasn't ready to receive serve, she served anyway and hit an ace, the referee never saw she had her hand up and H-H never admitted it. Stunning and utterly classless show of "sportsmanship".

If I've butchered that story, please correct me, but that's the gist of what happened and I lost all respect for her from that moment on. I hope Maria roles over her ass.

[Noj]

[rachel]

Ah, we finally stumble across the heart of the matter:

You, a European, were rooting for another European. You can't stand the behavior of US Open crowds simply because it hurt your European player's feelings and he just couldn't handle it. Boo fucking hoo.

Cramps are a part of the game - this is a valid excuse when you're playing a 36 year old with a degenerative back condition who doesn't cramp? Boo fucking hoo.

I don't know what permit you to say such a thing.

I was "ROOTING" for no one.

Are you completely stupid or are you only playing to be so?

Or is it so difficult to admit that you have no argument here and try (seems a great speciality of yours) to take the conversation on ANOTHER GROUND AGAIN?

A bit of both, maybe?

It is my understanding that "rooting" for someone means something entirely different in Europe than it does in America. (i.e. have a sexual overtone) Over here it just means to " cheer" for someone or wish that a certain opponent wins. It has no sexual meaning whatsoever.

[chris olivarez]

Two words-Roger Federer.