Robby Ginepri sent 5th seeded Nikolay Davydenko packing with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in the second round of play in Madrid last night. Davydenko ranked No. 5 in the ATP 2008 Race was stunned by the hard hitting right-hander. Ginepri is a great friend to the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly. Not only is Ginepri a former Champion of the Indy tournament. The young American star has also contributed to the tournaments charity HAL (Healthy Active Lifestyles).  Good luck in round 3 Robby!

Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly winner Gilles Simon continues to fight through the season with another hard fought win over Igor Andreev 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, (9-7) in the ATP Masters Series Madrid. At 24 years old Simon is taking the tour on by surprise with 3 tournament wins under his belt already this season. The 5-11, 143 lbs. Frenchman also defeated another familiar face to the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly 2006 Champion, James Blake in the second round at Madrid. Simon is currently ranked 12th on the ATP tour and is marching up the ladder at full speed. Best of luck in round 3, Gilles! Check below for some outstanding play by Simon while playing in Indy.

After a tough showing at the Davis Cup, it is any wonder what the future holds for American players. Sam Querrey, Donald Young, and John Isner are the young Americans carrying a lot of weight for the feature, but what about those youngsters competing to become one of them?

The USTA Elite Player Development team has been created to identify and develop the next generation of American champions by surrounding the top junior players and young pros with the resources, facilities and coaching they need to reach their maximum potential.

Joining Patrick McEnroe is Jose Higueras, who recently has been working with Robby Ginepri and Roger Federer. He will work with McEnroe to develop future American champions.  He will provide on-court guidance and coaching to both coaches and players, with a mission to build and maintain an Elite Player Development coaching staff at a world class level.  

I can’t wait to see the next up and coming players for America! Between McEnroe and Higueras, you can only expect to see some great youngsters join the tour for America!

 I noticed that Carmel's own Rajeev Ram is making a tour through the ATP Challenger Series in Waco, Texas this week.  Ram, seeded eigth, lost a tough three set match to Nicholas Monroe.   

The ATP Challenger Series is set up as a great developmental opportunity for young players.  The Series is to men's professional tennis what AAA baseball is to the major leagues.  If you look through the draw in Waco, you will notice many familar faces.  I counted ten guys who have played in Indianapolis at one point, including Bobby Reynolds and John Isner. 

Ram is definitely an Indy favorite.  He first competed in the RCA Championships (now the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly) in 2002.  His best results were in 2005 and 2008 when he reached the round of 16.

Not only is Ram loved by the crowds here but he is loved by the volunteers and staff.  He is a true gentleman and always willing to sign autographs, talk with sponsors and meet with the press. 

The next stop on Ram's Texas tour is probably the Lubbock Challenge.  Go Rajeev!

So who is this young American, Sam Querrey, that is set to face Rafael Nadel in the opening round of the Davis Cup today? 

Sam is 21 years old and hails from California.  He is one of the tallest players on the ATP Tour at 6'6".  Sam started playing tennis at the age of four.  He turned pro in 2006, loves playing basketball, tennis and golf.

Currently ranked 39th in the world, he has had a great run this year.  He won the Las Vegas event, was a semi-finalist in Delray Beach and here at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships.  He first played in Indy in 2006 where he reached the round of 32.  In 2007, he was a semi-finalist losing to eventual champion, Dmitry Tursunov.

Good luck today Sam!

Men's professional tennis has now hit the big time with the release of the 2009 ATP World Tour 2009 Calendar.  Even if you aren't a fan of these type of things, you have to admit that it is good publicity for men''s tennis. 

2007 Indianapolis Tennis Champion, Dmitry Tursunov is one of the players showcased.  Also within the calendar pages are Paradorn Srichaphan, another Indy Tennis favorite as is Tommy Hass.  The number one doubles team in the world, Mike and Bob Bryan represent the United States. 

Each region of the world is represented and in total players from 12 countries are showcased.  To check out the calendar, 2009 ATP World Calendar.

My hats off to the ATP for showcasing some of the lesser known players and a different 'side' to men's professional tennis

Over the weekend, Gilles Simon, beat Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-4 to take the BCR Open Romania title.  What is significant about Simon's victory?  Well, Gilles is the reigning Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly champion and has significantly boosted his chances of qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai event.

Simon was virtually unknown when he arrived in Indianapolis.  He was Indy's number two seed but to be honest, I even had no idea who he was.  Since his victory in Indy's men's professional tennis tournament, Simon has had an impressive run.  The 23 year old went on to defeat Roger Federer in Toronto and advanced to the semi-finals.  This has undoubtably been his best year - with three titles so far. 

Simon moved up three spots and is now number 12 in the ATP race.  Gilles has played more tournaments than the 11 players ranked ahead of him.  There are two Masters Series event left before Shanghai so let's cheer for Indy Tennis Championships' Gilles Simon! 

...well guess what? you were wrong.

    I'm supposed to win every slam, every year..right? Well, I didn't. Apparently there ARE other talented players out there who, on occasion, win tournaments.
Does that make me old, irrelevant..finished?

    Apparently the throngs of tennisfolk that were waiting to pen my eulogy will have to wait a little longer. I'm not done yet. And I won't be for awhile.

    Yeah, Australia was a letdown...try going to work with Mono sometime.I've had better times, but I did it anyway.

    Roland Garros was disappointing, but I was good enough to make the final. Rafa's pretty good on dirt, if you haven't noticed.

    Remember that Wimbledon final? Greatest match ever? I played in it.That could have gone either way on any given day, but that day was Rafa's....

    
    But I'm the King of New York. Have been for five straight years.Traffic stops when I cross the street and even Donald Trump asks for my autograph. It's an A-List affair anytime I step into Arthur Ashe Stadium. Quick..think of a celebrity..yeah, they've seen me play. They may not have paid for the ticket, but they weren't asked to attend either.

I'm probably not done yet this year. Madrid, Paris, Shanghai? It's on.

 

I know I should be writing about men's tennis and the Indianapolis Tennis Championships but I feel I should devote some space to Serena Williams.  It seems you either love her or hate her.  How can any sports fan or general fan not be able to applaud her performance at the US Open?

After five years and one month, Serena is now the number 1 ranked women's professional tennis player in the world.  She beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 to take the US Open crown.  What an achievement.  Not only did she win a major, the major tennis tournament in the world but she moved into the number 1 ranking.

She has gone the longest period between the top ranking by any player since the early 70s.  I don't care if you aren't a tennis fan, you have to applaud her unbelievable effort and perservance to comeback and take the US Open crown and ascend to the #1 ranking.

Go Serena!!!

Since I'm still in the dumps about my recent US Open picks, I not going to recount last night's tennis match.  Roddick was not mentally prepared.  Hats off to the Williams sisters, though.  That has to be a tough stage to be playing your sister on the national stage for a semi-final spot at the US Open.  The greatest tennis event in the world!

I want to grip about the Indianapolis Star's coverage of the US Open.  I am a faithful reading of the Sports page every morning before work.  This morning, I was excited to read about last night's mens tennis match, todays matches and other general comments from the US Open.  Yes, the largest standalone sporting event in the world!  I expected the Colts to get the front page and the US Open to be on the inside of the front page.

I read through the Colts, high school football, NFL, baseball, transactions/AP info and then finally found the US Open information.  How can this huge event on the sports calendar be regulated to the back page - especially when the Indianapolis Tennis Championships feeds into the US Open.  There is a men's professional tennis tournament in Indianapolis - there are fans of tennis in Indianapolis.  How can the US Open, generating $200 million in revenue, be slammed to the bag page?

In further investigation, I decided to check out www.indystar.com for the lastest US Open news.  After much searching, I found a blurb about US Open highlights under the National News section-at the bottom and fifth on the list.  It even appears after a story about Marion Jones being released from prison early.  Game, Set and Match - how can tennis compete with a convict being released from prison early.

Sorry for the delay in the updating, I am just recovering from my very first visit to the US Open! After playing tennis for 10 years, it was a dream come true to see the greatest event in tennis! It will be a memory I will never forget, stepping foot on the grounds that have shaped tennis to what is today and seeing the future of tennis firsthand. It is a priviledge to be part of the Olympus US Open Series, and to see history made...40 years of US Open Era!

Sidenote from last night's match: I am glad to see Djokovic stand up for himself. I don't think it was intentional to toast the crowd, but rather he was caught up in the press and trying to balance the pressure! I vote him to win the whole tournament regardless of what poeple are staying!

Congrats Bryan Brothers on another great victory!

I'm amazed by the simplicity of this game.....bring me a tray of your finest meats and cheeses!




    Well..what I thought yesterday would be a great match really wasn't much of a match at all, now was it? 

     Last night in New York, Andy Roddick needed a paltry 87 minutes to dispatch of 11th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez. You really don't have to work your way down the stat sheet very far to figure this one out- Roddick only committed 8 unforced errors compared to Gonzalez' 33. Gonzalez complemented this with 6 double faults. Roddick compiled an impressive 1st serve winning percentage of 93% compared to Fernando's 60%.  
 
    For most of the match it looked as though Gonzalez was completely confused by and uncomfortable with the pace of the match, particularly when Andy was on serve. If fatigue was a factor, and it looked like it was, Roddick certainly capitalized on it as he got out in front of his opponent early and never let up. Roddick also did a nice job of going to the net on several occassions to come up with some brilliant passing shots. Gonzalez was slow to counteract Roddick's superior quickness.
 
I think Andy has a very realistic chance to win the whole thing and my reasons are these:

- Roddick is obviouly intent on leaving it all on the court and while that often leads a player to play wreckless and sloppy, Andy has looked crisp, polished, and very focused on the match in front of him

- He faces Djokovic in the quartefinals and Federer most likely in the Semis if all goes well. Both have appeared exhausted at times and have struggled throughout the draw. Call it fatigue, tough opponents, or lack of focus but while they've both just come off of brutal 5-set matches, Andy's getting through his business in 90 minutes. Roddick has yet to have a match go five sets and has been pushed to a fourth set only once. Getting through your opponents quickly and getting adequate rest are critical at this point in a tournament.

- provided Andy gets through the next two rounds and into the finals, Nadal is his most likely opponent, although either Murray or Del Potro will present a serious challenge. In theory if he's made it this far, then why can't he win it all? Roddick's 2-for-5 head to head with Rafa, which isn't exactly astounding, but put this in baseball terms and Roddick's batting .400 (which is astounding).

I still think Andy's corner of the draw is the most difficult, as his has proven to be so far, but it might be time to think realistically about seeing Andy hoist the hardware this sunday.

Anyway, on to the rest of it...

Professional Tennis Matches On tap for today:

Dinara Safina vs. Flavia Pennetta-just underway

Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Andy Murray- should be a great match between two great players. Apparently these two are not fond of each other.

Tonight's Primetime Action:

War of the Williams' (my term)- Venus vs. Serena in what can only be desribed as the most important sporting event in the history professional tennis....and maybe  the world.

Followed by:

Rafael Nadal vs. Mardy Fish- on a side note, the Fish Tank is still riding high after the pounding they inflicted on the J-Block. Hopefully tonight they're focused, energized, and not drowned out by the 20,000 people that showed up to root for Nadal.
That's it for now..you've been great.

 

September 4th is George Foreman Day at the U.S Open

The US Open and George Foreman team up during the second week of the championship tournament to promote healthy food choices. You can check out Foreman's monthly Web show (www.KnockOuttheFat.com) to learn about how to live healthy.

Jeremy Piven of HBO Series Entourage hangs out at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday Evening and interacts with fans.

Men's professional tennis is taking a dump on me.  I decided to hang out on a limb and pick the men's winner of the US Open this year.  I was pretty confident that some of my picks would come through.  I had a couple upsets selected and then some of the tried and true favorites - Nadal, Federer etc.  I went so far as to pick the Indianapolis Tennis Championship's winner, Gilles Simon.

Well, I obviously need to start taking tennis lessons or watching is more closely on television.

My original predictions for the quarters:

Nadal, Blake, Simon, Lopez, Roddick, Moya, Tursunov and Federer

Of my choices, the only men still left in the tournament are Nadal, Roddick and Federer.

I knew I should have picked a man named Fish for the "tournament of my life" award.  Mardy is coming off some injuries and hasn't played a ton of tennis this summer.  It is nice to see him do well in the biggest tennis event all year.  Too bad he had to beat my man Blake.

Andy is now being coached by Patrick McEnroe.  I met Patrick this summer as was very impressed.  He is now charged with developing the young elite players for the USTA.  He should do well in that role.  Hopefully he can get Andy's tennis game back on track.

General observations from the Open (and now totally unqualified eye): Federer doesn't look strong, Monfils is a breadth of fresh air and Del Porto is proving his summer wasn't all luck.

Yes, the granddaddy of them all begins today in Flushing Meadow.  The US Open takes center stage in the tennis world.  I would argue that it is the premier Men's Professional Tennis Tournament in the world.

We love to watch how 'our' tennis players from the Indianapolis Tennis Championships go on to do in NY. 

I decided to go out on a limb and choose by quarterfinalists for this year's US Open.

Here goes:

Nadal
Blake
Simon
Lopez
Roddick
Moya
Tursunov
Federer

Nobody would blame me for choosing Nadal and Federer.  I think 99% of the population would pick one of them to win the whole thing.  Blake had a great Olympics and is playing well on the hardcourts.  An Indy favorite, Andy Roddick should also do well.  Going out further on a limb, I'm going to choose none other than Gilles Simon to make the finals.

The grandest stage in men's tennis is almost set.  The first three rounds of the qualifying tournament for the USTA granddaddy event are over.  The professional tennis players have been in New York battling for 16 spots into the US Open for several days.  Before the final round begins in Flushing Meadows, I thought I would choose my picks.

My picks:
Bjorn Phau
Giovanni Lapentti - brother Nicholas won the RCA Championships several yrs ago
Robert Smeets - love the last name
Robert Kendrick - a US player who recently competed in Indy
Brian Dabul - Da bulls, Da bulls
Thiago Alves
Ryler De Heart - another US player
Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi - played in Indianapolis this year and was great
Flavio Cipolla - have to root for a guy with the first name of Flavio
Thierry Ascione
Rik de Voest
Paul Capdeville - played well in the Indianapolis Tennis Tournament
Kevin Kim
Alex Kuznetsov - an upcoming American
Gille Muller
Stephane Bohli

The guys are in New Haven as we speak and are currently playing the final stop on the 2008 Olympus US Open Series to be capped off next week at the start of the 2008 US Open. The summer series has provided tennis fans with some of the best mens tennis I have had the opportunity to witness. Whether you look at Gilles Simon taking home the crown in Indy and defeating Roger Federer in Canada or Nadal climbing to the top to become the world #1 or watching Juan Martin Del Potro capture the countrywide classic in LA and following it up with the title in Washington at the Legg Mason Classic. Mens professional tennis has experienced incredible growth this summer it was broadcast on ESPN2 at every tournament stop. The USTA continues to promote the game of tennis at a grassroots level and will continue to be a driving force for the succeess of tennis within the states. We look forward to growing our partnership with the USTA through a number of tennis related activities most notably this fall at the Healthy Active Lifestyles convocation at a TBD location in Indiana.

                         TENNIS   .    COMMUNITY   .    CHARITY

Here are your Beijing Day 7 Results

    Women's Tennis Singles
 Safina (RUS) def. Jankovic (SRB) 6-2 5-7 6-3
 
    Men's Tennis Singles
 Nadal (ESP) def. Djokovic (SRB) 6-4 1-6 6-4
 Gonzalez (CHI) def. Blake (USA) 4-6 7-5 11-9

 
     A great week of tennis is set to conclude this weekend in Beijing with both the men's and women's gold medal matches. As is true for both the ATP and WTA tours, the Olympics has seen the most consistent and disciplined players advance through the event. 
     Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina serve as prime examples of this this. While both are highly emotional and energetic players, they're also extrmemely consistent in their approach to each and every match. Neither player gives much, if anything, away to their opponents. Rafael is playing the best tennis of his young career and is the posterboy for proper fitness and mental toughness. Safina is quickly positioning herself for a run at #1 in the WTA rankings with her unique blend of athleticism and mental savvy. 
 
     It was sad, at least for us here at The Juice, to see Roger Federer lose in his bid for his maiden olympic Medal. However, his loss paved the way for the most pleasant of suprises, that being James Blake's journey into the medal round. Blake fell in three sets to Fernando Gonzalez today in semifinal action, but his Beijing performance just might be the perfect boost of confidence that James needs to turn his season around.  

 Unfortunately, the Olympics wouldn't be the Olympics without a little controversy. For Blake, such controversy appeared in the form of a ball that was called out, but apparently knicked Gonzalez' racquet first.

From nbcolympics.com:

 "The incident that upset Blake occurred with Gonzalez serving at 8-9 in the final set. On the first point, Blake hit a backhand passing shot long but contended the ball ticked Gonzalez's racket before landing, as TV replays confirmed.

 Blake appealed in vain to the chair umpire, and said Gonzalez should have conceded the point. Blake went on to lose the game to make it 9-all.

 "Playing in the Olympics, in what's supposed to be considered a gentleman's sport, that's a time to call it on yourself," Blake said. "Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn't call it."

 Gonzalez said he was uncertain whether the ball hit his racket.
 
 "I didn't feel anything," Gonzalez said. "I mean, it's just one point. There is an umpire. If I'm 100 percent sure about it, I mean, I will give it. But I'm not sure."

     It's an unfortunate end to a great run for James, although he had failed to capitalize on three match point chances at the time of the botched call. However..I'm dissapointed by Gonzalez' statement that "..it's just one point". For Blake, that one point was match point. 
     
    Funny how the weight of a single point is so skewed depending on which side of the net you're standing.
     
    Anyway, I can't wait to see how James fares at the US Open. I've seen James do some pretty amazing things on a tennis court (Ed. note: see 2006 final vs. Roddick in Indianapolis. One of the best professional tennis matches I've ever seen). He's an amazing athlete. Hopefully, he can leave this incident behind him in Beijing.

Featured sponsor of the day: Exact Target! 

Back for the second year, Exact Target made headlines again at the 2008 tournament as the exclusive sponsor of the stadium court radar gun readout.

Exact Target continues to provide the best in e-mail marketing software for marketing campaigns and best of all, they are based right here in the heart of the circle city - Indianapolis, Indiana.

Exact Target is also the official email marketing partner of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Newsletter, to sign up click here.