Not Such a G'day, Mate

The dominant subject of the day in my tiny corner of this vast universe has been American tennis.  The Yanks got sunk yesterday Down Under.  Three American men lost their second round matches -- Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, and Donald Young.  The day was saved only by the heroics by John Isner, in yet another marathon match that saw him defeat David Nalbandian 10-8 in the 5th set.  And, truth be told, Isner was the beneficiary of two horrendous errors by the chair umpire on the same serve, which rattled Nalbandian and turned the match at 8-8 in that deciding set.  The timing couldn't have been worse, the calls couldn't have been more unfair.  Isner's leg was cramping, his shoulders were drooping.  Perhaps Big John was playing possum, but it sure looked like the Argentinian was getting the better of him.  All that was required to salvage any shred of hope for the American men in Australia.  Andy Roddick is still alive in the tournament, but nobody really fancies his chances of him bringing home the trophy.  After watching Fish get run off in straight sets by Columbian Alejandro Falla, and then Donald Young get smoked by qualifier Lukas Lacko, I just couldn't stand to watch Sam Querrey battle Australian phenom Bernard Tomic.  Plus, it was already two in the morning on the West Coast, and I had to be up early for a morning meeting... about American tennis.

In order to develop future tennis champions in the United States, the way the game is perceived in America needs to change.  Soccer and tennis have similar problems.  Internationally, the two sports dominate media coverage and attract the best athletes.  Our greatest American athletes play football, basketball, and baseball.  When Tiger Woods is playing golf, tennis ranks as the sixth most popular sport in the States.  That's the inherent issue facing the recruitment of talented kid athletes to choose tennis over all those other sports.

I propose that tennis needs to be made cooler in America.  The game, phenomenal as it is, must be marketed better to the masses.  ESPN and Tennis Channel combine to do a fine and thorough job of airing the ATP and WTA tours, rightly focusing on Grand Slams.  But, for a sport that is going on pretty close to all year round, rarely does tennis register on the radar of the American sports world.  I allow that perhaps the game has found its natural place in the pecking order, but I refuse to accept that it's set it stone.  I believe television is the proper medium to transform the image of tennis of America.  We can use television to get to know the players better -- to connect with them -- to vicariously live the lifestyle -- to understand their commitment and sacrifice -- to get a much deeper appreciation for their constant pursuit of greatness.  If we can manage even half that, we have a chance of drawing talented young athletes to the incredible game of tennis.

Once we reel them in, of course, we have to find better ways to teach them.  But that's a subject better left for another day.


UPDATE: Andy Roddick had to retire from his match last night with Lleyton Hewitt after pulling his groin.  He was trailing two sets to one at the time.  Oh, and Ryan Sweeting was up two sets to one on number 5 seed, David Ferrer, but lost in 5.  That leaves John Isner as the only American man left standing in the third round of the Australian Open.  Quite a sad state of affairs.

THE FINAL FOUR

Rafa Nadal vs. Andy Murray
Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic

Nadal tries to reach his 6th French Final on his 25th birthday.
Murray tries to spoil it all for Rafa.

Djokovic tries to reach #1 in the world for the first time and continue his win streak.
Federer tries to spoil it all for Nole.

The only thing that can ruin a day like this is NBC.  Because the network does not like to preempt The Today Show under any circumstance, here on the West Coast we get the French Open Men's Semifinal on tape delay.  And... we only get one match in a 3-hour window.  All tournament long, The Tennis Channel and ESPN2 have been providing wall-to-wall live coverage from Roland Garros.  But here we are at The Final Four of the French, and we only get one of the two matches, and it's on tape.  Lame.  Truly lame.  The Tennis Channel is replaying both semis immediately after NBC's coverage is over.  I think.  NBC is scheduled to show tennis from 11am-2pm and the Tennis Channel from 2pm-9pm.  But what if the one semifinal match NBC shows is an epic five-hour five-setter?  Does the Tennis Channel have to hold it's replay?  Is it possible they could both be showing the same match at the same time?  Either way, it really won't matter to me.  I'll be at work by then and there's really no way I'm going to be able to avoid seeing the results until I get home in the evening.  So, big thanks for effing up my favorite day of the French Open.  Merci beaucoup, NBC.

On my personal wish list, first and foremost, I want to see amazing tennis with all four men playing at the highest level.  I'd like to see Novak beat Roger.  I'd like to see Rafael beat Andy.  And, of course, I want to see Nadal beat Djokovic in the final on Sunday.  Thus, Nole would be the new #1 but Rafa would still be the King of Clay.

Feliz Cumpleanos, Rafa!  Vamos!

UPDATE:  The Tennis Channel is playing the Nadal-Murray match live this morning!  Thus, I say in a non-sarcastic way... Merci beaucoup, Tennis Channel.