Adirondack Tennis

Harrison on Davis Cup and More Tweets

pagreen374 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:33:03 +0000

ryanharrison92 Ryan Harrison Really excited to be on the Davis cup team! Leaving for Switzerland next week to represent the USA! Couldn’t be more fired up

TennisReporters Matt Cronin Azarnenka: ‘I guess I made a pretty smart decision not to quit. The road is not always straight up, not just up and down.”

_PaulHayward Paul Hayward It’s barely believable that anyone could play as well as Nadal and still lose. With all the brilliance in men’s tennis comes that cruelty.

StuartScott Stuart Scott Few sports combine combo beauty/tenacity/grace/finesse/power like tennis. Djokovic/Nadal Aussie final nothin short of #ArtisticBrilliance

TheTweetOfGod God Rafael Nadal loses better than almost anyone else in the world wins.

Bryanbros Bob Bryan @panache36 I think the let should be removed. Would make for more interesting points and would keep play more continuous.

Harrison in U.S. Davis Cup team to play Switzerland (cbssports.com)

Tennis makes it to the Onion

pagreen374 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:53:24 +0000

The Onion Radio News did a “Tennis” Story - The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news. Much of its humor depends on presenting everyday events as newsworthy and by playing on commonly used phrases, as in the headline “Drugs Win Drug War.”

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Australian Open Canceled As Tennis Balls Fall Off Bottom Of Earth Into The Sky

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—Organizers of the Australian Open canceled the highly anticipated Grand Slam event Wednesday night after admitting they were unable to prevent tennis balls from falling off the underside of the planet and into the sky. “We regret to announce we had not adequately researched the problems of playing tennis upside down here on the bottom of the world,” a statement by tournament organizers read in part. “Our deepest, most sincere apologies go out to spectators, to participants, and especially to the family and friends of Kim Clijsters, who was last spotted by Royal Australian Air Force radar falling down through the atmosphere following an ill-advised jump serve.” Sporting cognoscenti said the problems facing the Open were not insurmountable, pointing to the innovations that allowed Australian soccer to develop into Australian rules football in the 19th century.

Townsend wins Australian Open girls event

pagreen374 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:26:37 +0000

Who says there is no future for U.S. Women’s Tennis when the Williams sisters retire. Taylor Townsend of the U.S. won both the Girls Singles and Girls Doubles at the Australian Open and she is only 15. This article is reprinted from SI.COM – Sports Illustrated’s online site.

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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Fifteen-year-old Taylor Townsend wasn’t intimidated by playing the most important match of her young tennis career at 15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.

In fact, she took a souvenir so she could remember the experience.

“I was actually surprised that I saw four towels, like two towels on one seat, two towels on the other,” she said. “I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m gonna snag these.’ That’s exactly what I did.”

Townsend, a native of Stockbridge, Ga., took home a couple of trophies, as well.

She defeated Yulia Putintseva of Russia 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Saturday to win the girls’ singles event at the Australian Open, a day after she and partner Gabrielle Andrews of Pomona, Calif., won the girls’ doubles title.

When she closed out her singles’ victory, Townsend burst into tears on court.

“Tears of joy,” she said afterward. “It’s a dream come true for me, you know. A lot of people were supporting me, and my family and everything are just so proud. It was just a proud moment for me and … the feelings kind of rushed in.”

Townsend, who was discovered and initially coached by the parents of American player Donald Young, said she wouldn’t have made the trip Down Under if she hadn’t been confident she could win the title, even though she’s a couple of years younger than many of the other competitors.

“That’s a belief that I had in myself, but, I mean, definitely when I got through the quarterfinals, I was like, ‘You have three more matches and you can win this.”’

Townsend’s current coach, former top 10 player Kathy Rinaldi, said that she’s been training with her full-time in Florida and it’s sometimes been difficult for her to be away from home.

“I said, ‘It takes some sacrifices and it will pay off for you,”’ Rinaldi said. “And she goes ‘I’m trusting you.’ And it paid off for her this week.”

In her down time in Melbourne this week, Townsend has been checking out some of the top pros on court. But she’s not that interested in watching the women play.

“I definitely watch the men more. I stayed up watching Federer-Nadal,” she said. “I honestly couldn’t believe the shots that Federer was hitting, and I couldn’t believe that Nadal was getting them back.”

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444 AND COUNTING: Esther Vergeer knows she’ll probably lose a tennis match again someday. She just didn’t want it to happen this week at Melbourne Park.

The 30-year-old Dutchwoman defeated countrywoman Aniek Van Koot 6-0, 6-0 in just 47 minutes to win the women’s singles wheelchair event at the Australian Open on Saturday, keeping alive her astounding 444-match win streak.

It was Vergeer’s 20th Grand Slam singles title and ninth at the Australian Open, according to the International Tennis Federation. She also won the wheelchair doubles on Friday with her partner, 41-year-old Dutchwoman Sharon Walraven.

“I’ve already been telling myself I can lose any minute now because I know that some girls are a better player than me, maybe have better tennis skills than me, maybe have a better disability than me, maybe can put more pressure on the ball, but maybe don’t have the mental toughness or the experience,” Vergeer said after the match.

The last time Vergeer lost a singles match was in January 2003. Her opponents didn’t even get close to challenging her in Melbourne, either – Vergeer only lost four games in three matches.

Because she’s dominated wheelchair tennis for so long and won every accolade she possibly could – including five Paralympic gold medals – Vergeer is frequently asked how she stays motivated to continue competing.

Remarkably, she says she still sees room to improve her game. Plus, she takes seriously her position as a role model.

“This is just a great, awesome life that I’m living. It’s unbelievable that I’m able to play Grand Slams,” she said. “Even if you have a disability, there’s so much that you can still do and a lot of people. By tennis, or by playing sport, it’s possible for me to spread that word.”

Australian Open crowd figures soar (heraldsun.com.au)
Murray upset with late-night drug testing (sfgate.com)

Video from the Australian Open & Comment

pagreen374 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:51:10 +0000

and this from Henri Kontinen – Finish Tennis Player – via Twitter

henrikontinen Henri Kontinen
they should have a pair of these for every spectator in the rod laver arena for the women’s final… i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/27337…

2012 Year End Rankings – 16 and Under

pagreen374 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:40:12 +0000

This is the next to last article on the year end junior rankings. We have covered the 10′s, 12′s and 14′s. 16 and Under rankings are the most important for those that want to play college tennis and especially for those who are looking to get a tennis scholarship. This is what many college coaches look most closely at. Most players play only one year in the 18′s because they go away to college. Some players take a break when they get accepted into college. It’s not uncommon for a player to have his or her best ranking in the 18′s because the field is so much smaller. So who are the best 16 and Under players in the Eastern Section? Read on!

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Jamie Loeb - From the Ossining Patch

Just how good is Jamie Loeb – Ossining, NY? Ever since the 12 and Unders I am used to seeing Jamie on the top of her age group. For the latest Girls 16 and Under standings Jamie is 1st with 3202 points. Lexi Borr- Westfield, NJ – is a distant second with 2074 points. Louisa Chirico – Harrison, NY – is third with 1975 points. Katharine Fahey – Fair Haven, NJ; Luisa Fernandez – Pittsford, NY and Valerie Shklover – Fair Lawn, NJ are all bunched together. Luisa Fernandez is the only one playing the upcoming Sectional Tournament at Sportime. Nationally, Jamie is ranked 3rd, Lexi is ranked 12th, Louisa is 30th, Valerie is 89th, Luisa is 102nd and Katherine is 216th.

Loeb Chrico and Borr also have world rankings. Jamie is 753 in the world and Louisa is 887 in the world. Lexi Borr is 985.

Local players with Eastern Sectional Rankings are:

Claire Schmitz is the highest ranked Northern Regional player at 34th and she is ranked 616th Nationally. After Claire is Shannon Mukerji – 89th. Other Northern Regional players with Girls 16 Sectional Rankings are:

Ella Lindholm-Uzzi (127); Hannah Friend (147); Jordan General (194); Nisha Detchprohm (197); Mia Dicaprio (205); Ann Phillips (216); Carriianna Voellm (236); Chassidy King (240); Gabriela peda (253); Stephanie Behrens (255); Keishorea Armstrong ( 257); Christina Lee (289); Kaitlyn Healy (317); Madeline Locke (326); Emma Morrissey (366); Ooha Kambhampati (374); Samantha Blond (392); Katherine Quinn (393); Alexandra Clark (394); Julianne Melita (399); Catherine MacCormick (402) and Alexis Casso (403)

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Noah Rubin - from ElHeraldo - Colombia

Now for the Boys 16 and Unders. Shawn Hadavi of Dobbs Ferry, NY is the top 16 and Under player in the Eastern Section. Next is Ncholas Podesta – Rumson, NJ. The next five players are tightly bunched; Josh Yablon – New York City; Noah Rubin – Rockville Centre, NY; Sam Swank – Bedford, NY; Josh Silverstein – Great Neck, NY and Matt Nardella – Manlius, NY. Sam Lam of Old Westbury, NY is 8th and Nicholas Crystal of Waccabuc, NY is 9th.

Most of these players have good National Rankings in the top 100. Nicholas Crystal is 13th in the Nation; Josh Silverstein is 34th; Josh Yablon is 36th; Matt Nardella is 39th; Samuel Lam is 63rd; Sam Swank is 86th. In addition, Daniel Kerznerman of Brooklyn is ranked 29th Nationally and Vihar Shah is ranked 59th. Their Sectional Rankings are not as high because they play mostly national tournaments, not Eastern Sectional tournaments.

Some of these players have appeared in this blog before. We have written about Noah Rubin several times in the past. I first set eyes on Noah when he was an 8 year old at Eastern Excel Tennis Camp on Long Island. I have brought kids down there several times. Noah’s big tie to our area is his dad Eric – a graduate of the University at Albany. Noah is currently ranked #1 in the country in the 16 and Unders and he is still a month shy of his 16th birthday, which means he has a whole year of eligibility left in the 16′s. Noah is also ranked 28th in the world – quite a fete for a 15 year old. ITF rankings do not go by age group, it’s just one big list for all ages. Noah has only played 7 ITF tournaments so his ranking is likely to go up. I look forward to seeing how high he can go. Nicholas Crystal is 727th in the world while Sam Swang is 1577th. As you can see this is a very talented group of Eastern players.

That’s not to say we don’t have a good group of juniors in our own Northern Region. We have:

Josh Jachuck – 64th

Emerson Kelby – 67th

Rohin Bose – 110th; Lars Olson – 114th; Matt Bunch – 151st; Alex Fedorov – 229th; Russel Santos – 251st; Peter Campito – 260th; Nick lau – 254th; Matthew McCall – 377th; Vishnu Kakuturi – 382nd; Jonas Lindholm-Uzzi – 397th; Bryce Recer – 486th; Sanjay Achar – 490th; James Anania – 502nd; Ned Faist – 548th; Max Benson – 624th; Nick Mashuta – 629th; Anthony O’Connell – 630th and Gabriel Freiberg – 653rd.

I will be updating tournament results for these players in the next few days.

Rafa – Amazing Passing Shot

pagreen374 — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:01:37 +0000

Ball Boy Makes Great Catch

pagreen374 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:23:58 +0000

Aussie Open Animals

pagreen374 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:57:16 +0000

The Beauty Of It All

pagreen374 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:52:28 +0000

From “Parenting Aces”

a little perspective from Barry Buss:

The beauty of our sport is there is no right way to ‘do’ it… The confounding thing about our sport is there is no right way to ‘do’ it. Two handed one handed cross handed double handled…eastern western continental grips…semi this full that under spin over spin extreme spin no spin…oversized standard sized poly gut blend… 70 lbs 40 lbs, baseliner serve and volleyer grinder bomber… Male female black white brown yellow, grass clay hard carpet, singles doubles mixed team… junior senior pro am… Coach player trainer agent….so many different hats one can wear.. Our common ground is our love for our sport…try as we might, it’s with us til the end.. We are lifers.. Fans to our deepest inner core… trying with all our might to make sense of it all..

..Oliver rochus is ranked 54 th in the world.. Ivo karlovic is ranked 57th.. Rochus is 5’3… Karlovic is 6’10… Rochus has a career record of 2-1 vs Karlovic…

CLICK HERE to read the whole article

Red Ball, Green Ball, Orange Ball or None of the Above – Part 2

pagreen374 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:59:09 +0000

Wayne Bryan – his claim to fame is his sons – Mike & Bob Bryan, but there’s so much more. Wayne’s programs produced many top junior and college players. This is excerpts from a letter he wrote to the USTA about the new 10 and Under initiative. The letter was reprinted on Johan Kriek‘s Facebook page and many other places. Excerpts will be posted on the blog over the next several days.

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Dear Anonymous USTA Exec,

Player Development

Again, so very appreciative that you asked my opinion re the U10s Mandate and U10 Initiative.

1) The USTA has built a half mile bridge over a one mile river. Jump Street is age 6 not 10. Ask AYSO soccer. T Ball. Softball. That’s when kids start skateboarding. Playing computer games. Great rodeo stars and singers and dancers are doing their thing at 6, not getting on that horse at age 10 or singing that first tune for grandma at 10. Inner city kids are doing those amazing dance moves at 6, not 10. Incredible NBA stars are already playing on the asphalt courts at 6, not 10. World famous music teacher Dr. Shinichi Susuki has little children playing amazing orchestral concerts. (Editor’s Note: The USTA initiative is 10 and UNDER not age 10 but Wayne’s point is that these other athlete’s are doing great things with adult equipment at ages younger than age 10) ….

2) Champions are not created by million dollar slick ad campaigns! Tennis will never grow from Madison Avenue! It grows from Main Street. Local parents. Local groups of kids getting going. Local parks. Local schools. Local clubs. Local coaches. Tennis grows from solid and fun and dynamic programming and charismatic parents and coaches and club pros. It grows with bells and whistles. With energy and enthusiasm. With fun. With laughs. With trips. Hit records are purchased because people love the song. …

3) … You want to help tennis, have your child or your nephew or that girl next door play the great game. Not trying to be negative, but all those USTA PD (PD = Player Development) coaches through the years? Their kids don’t play the game. Those administrators telling us about this wonderful U10 Initiative? Their kids don’t play. If they play at all, they are sure not champions. “So, my humble opinion is that if you are a good junior coach, you will have multiple, great junior players in your program and if you are a great junior coach, some of those players will be your own children!!” Doug Pielet, South Carolina.

4) The USTA crows that it has gone out and gotten input on this U10 Initiative from across the country? No way. It is all from Committees. That’s why there is such a huge blow back from the tennis people out in the trenches – – – I have a large e mail list of irate parents and coaches. The coaches that are producing players and parents whose children are passionate about the sport and doing well – – – they don’t have time for Committees, but their opinions were never solicited or considered. My Mom always said that “a Rhinoceros is a Horse that was designed by a committee”. My pal at the SCTA Henry Talbert laughing says, “There is nothing worse than two Generals and a Map.” Massive changes in our tournament structure are coming from top down and not bottom up. That’s no way to run a car company the Japanese have taught the world.

5) USTA Staffers … all said three things over and over …

a) All 10s dink: … I can show you all kinds of kids around the country at 8, 9 and 10 that can flat nail the ball and have very complete games. Mike and Bob play short doubles matches with little kids around the country at all their Exos and Charity Events – – – usually the kids are U10s. The points are astonishing and they always use yellow balls….

b) It doesn’t matter how you do in the 10s: Did these USTA staffers ever see Tracy or Andre at 6, or Jenny Cap, or Chrissie, or Lindsay, or Michael, or Pete, or Venus, or Serena at 10? Andy, Mardy, Mike, Bob, Sam, Vania, Donnie, or Ryan? Does that mean that every top 10 will be a world class player? Of course not, but every world class player was passionate and getting after tennis as a very little guy or gal. …

c) It doesn’t matter if the top 10s play up: Players should never play up unless they are flat out dominating their division. Oh, play up every once in awhile to see what it’s like or play up in a weaker tournament – – – sure. …

To Be Continued in the next few days

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I am writing a book, I got the page numbers done – Steven Wright, Comedian