Today I want to look back at a previous entry that I wrote about Ticket Scalping during the past Beijing Olympic Games. This was the entry where I questioned just how sophisticated the Chinese scalpers would be during the Summer Olympics. The answer:  some scalpers went to great lengths to attempt to make an illegal profit during this year’s games.

Earlier this week a Chinese man was found guilty for illegally scalping tickets to the games. At least 500 tickets were sold by the man at as much as 50 to 60 percent high than face value. The charge for the crime was 3+ years in prison and a $65,000 fine.

The man found guilty, used fake ID’s made from stolen identity information. The illegally obtained information was given to the man by a friend’s air conditioning company to purchase the tickets through China’s ticket outlets.

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! 

Now that the US Open is finished, all tennis eyes will focus on the upcoming Davis Cup matches.  The Davis Cup is to men's professional tennis what the Ryder Cup is to golf.  The only exception being that the Davis Cup goes on all year long.

Blake is physically and mentally exhausted from the summer.  He played a full schedule (including participating at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships), the Olympics and the US Open.  Blake's replacement is Sam Querrey, another Indy Tennis favorite. 

Querrey has practiced with the US Davis Cup team and has had a strong showing on clay.  He was a quarterfinalists in Monte Carlo (clay) and reached the round of 16 at the US Open.  The American's will face a strong team from Spain on outdoor clay September 16-21 in Madrid. 

Querrey is having a breakthrough season in just his second full year as a pro.  He won his first ATP title in March and defeated then No. 9 Richard Gasquet and former French Open champion Carlos Moya on red clay en route to the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo.  This summer, Querrey made his Olympic debut in Beijing and had his best finish at a major, reaching the Round of 16 at the US Open. 

Querrey will be  the first rookie on the U.S. team since Robby Ginepri made his debut in the 2004 First Round.  Congrats Sam!

...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.

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!

    
    In day one action at the US Open, James Blake survived a scare from American Donald Young before finally winning in 5 sets 6-1 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4. Blake definitely looked fatigued after a great run at the Olympics, but took adavantage of 2 overturned calls in the final set to regain his momentum and close out the match. Young showed signs that's he learning how to become a professional tennis player, but an overturned call followed by a double-fault on serve at 4-4 in the fifth set helped seal the deal for Blake.

 Rafael Nadal advanced to the second round with a victory over Bjorn Phau 7-6(4) 6-3 7-6(4). Rafa admitted to being tired and a little off his game, but was able to hold off his opponent nonetheless. Rafa at 70% or so is still a nightmare for anyone, although Phau deserves some credit for keeping it close throughout the three sets.

 It will be interesting to see what impact the Olympics will have on the players who participated, especially since two of the marquis Olympians in the men's draw definitely were not at their best yesterday. Roger Federer holds court at Artur Ashe Stadium tonight, so we'll see if he's shaken off the jetlag yet.

Other notable day 1 winners from the men's draw were David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Murray,Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, David Nalbandian. Get complete day 1 results here.

Top seeds in action today at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center:
Roger Federer vs. Maximo Gonzalez
Tommy Robredo vs. Mischa Zverev
Tomas Berdych vs. Sam Querrey
Richard Gasquet vs. Tommy Haas

    Haas and Querrey are the underdog in their respective matches, but don't be suprised if one or both survive to see the second round. Querrey's game is defintely suited for the hard court and Haas has a Safin-esque way of playing lights-out in big matches. Haas has also made the quarterfinals in New York in three of the past four years.

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 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

An Olympic Gold Medal and a #1 ranking on the world...not a bad week at all.

Way to go Rafa...You're King of the World!

Final results from Beijing:

 Men's Tennis Singles
 
Gold Medal match
Nadal (ESP) def. Gonzalez (CHI) 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3

Bronze Medal match
Djokovic (SRB) def. Blake (USA) 6-3 7-6(4)

 Men's Tennis Doubles

Gold medal match
Federer/Wawrinka (SUI)   6 6 6(4) 6
Aspelin/Johannson(SWE) 3 4 7    3

Bronze medal match
Bryan/Bryan (USA)    3 6 6
Clement/Llodra (FRA) 6 3 4

 Women's Tennis Singles

Gold medal match
Dementieva (RUS) def. Safina (RUS) 3-9 7-5 6-3

Bronze medal match
Zvonareva (RUS) def. Na (CHN) 6-0 7-5

 Women's Tennis Doubles

Gold medal match
Williams/Williams (USA)  6 6
Garrigues/Virginia (ESP)  2 0

Bronze medal match
Zi/Jie (CHN)                              6 6
Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR)  2 2

And there you have it...Congratulations to the winners for doing their Countries proud.

In other tennis news:

 Juan Martin Del Potro makes it four for the year as he takes the title at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington DC. His win over Viktor Troicki gives him some serious momentum heading into New York.Del Potro also moved into the #15 spot in the ATP Men's rankings.

 Pilot Pen Tennis takes center stage in New Haven this week.The final stop before New York for the Olympus US Open Series always puts on a great show with some of the best in both Men's and Women's pro tennis.

 
And on deck....The US Open.We at The Juice are getting geared up for our favorite of all the Grand Slams as we speak.Can Federer make it five? Can Nadal or Djokovic make it one? Will Jerry Seinfeld be there? Man, I hope so...he's funny.

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.

    

In quarterfinal action today in Beijing, James Blake (6-4 7-6(2)) shocked the world by defeating Roger Federer and himself to advance to the Olympic Men's semifinals. Blake committed 56 unforced errors, but still managed to emerge victorious. Blake moves on to face the winner of the Mathieu/Gonzalez match scheduled for later today.

Still on tap for the Men today:

Paul-Henri mathieu (FRA) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) (as mentioned a mere 2 sentences earlier)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Gael Monfils (FRA)

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)

B. Bryan/ M. Bryan (USA) vs. Hewitt/Guccione (AUS)

Blake, The Bryans and Venus stand as the lone remaining Americans after Serena's defeat at the hands of Elena Dementieva in the women's quarterfinals.Speaking of Venus, she's in the middle of a real battle with Na Li of China right now. It's 5-4 Venus on the first set. Venus has double-faulted 8, count 'em 8 times.

What's happening in DC,you say? Well, since you asked...

Tommy Haas advanced to the quarterfinals with a stright sets victory over Nicolas Mahut. Next up for Haas is Alejandro Falla, who fefeated Florent Serra 7-6(2) 7-6(11).

In a battle of young, American stars, John Isner towered (because he's tall) over Donald Young 6-4 7-6(4). Isner will meet 2nd-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro, who's on a gravy train with biscuit wheels as he rides a 16 match win streak in the quarters with a win over Dudi Sela in straight sets.

On deck for today..

Andy Roddick Vs. Eduardo Schwank

Robert Kendrick vs. S. Devvarman

Igor Kunitsyn vs. Fabio Fognini

V. Troicki vs. Bobby Reynolds

James Blake rolls past Federer in Beijing!
Be sure to watch James keep the American tennis hopes of gold alive at the 2008 Olympics.





Tennis  .  Community  .  Charity

While watching the Olympics late last night, I started pondering who are the most conditioned athletes?  Michael Phelps will certainly go down as the most decorated Olympian of all time.  In watching him swim so fast and so effortlessly, you know he is superbly conditioned.  He also is mentally tough.  I watched beach volleyball, and yes they are great athletes but superb conditioning and mental toughness?  I'm not so sure.  The gymnasts - well I certainly couldn't perform those type of vaults, flips and landings.  I watched one girl land with a bum ankle and asked my husband, how in the heck could she do that with bad ankle.  His comment was that it was only one landing.  She can suck it up and then she is done performing.  One and done.

That brings me back to the tennis athlete.  I've watched my fair share of tennis stars at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, US Open and other ATP events and I'm still amazed at the type of athletes these guys have to be. The matches can be long, you have no coach, breaks are limited and don't last but more than a minute or so, the surface changes, the conditions can be difficult.

For a Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to be tops in the game, they have to be able to master very different playing surfaces and compete in sometimes difficult conditions.  At the Indianapolis Tennis Championships this year, the court surfaces reached temperatures in excess of 110 degrees.  It was hot out there.  Those guys chased down balls, served, hit the ball as hard as they could for sometimes two hours or more.  They got several breaks, for a minute or two and no coaching.  They had no teammates cheering them on or sharing the load.  They were out there by themselves competing against their opponent, the elements and sometimes the crowd.  Talk about mental toughness.  I walked out on the tennis court and couldn't wait to get back into the air conditioning and my bottle of Evian water.

So here is the stumper - name me a sport which only involves one athlete who competes for upwards of two hours without coaching or any support staff.  No timeouts, no prolonged breaks, no coasting - just all out hustle, determination and athleticsm.

Ticket scalpers must really be getting sophisticated in the 21st Century as scalpers storm the streets of Beijing. While managing the box office for a Men’s Professional Tennis tournament I have come across numerous ticket scalpers. None of which that I've run into (thrown off our site) have ever struck me as being very bright. Ticket Scalpers normally remind me of a bum begging for their last meal. In order to be a scalper in Beijing would you have to deal with the following: how do these scalpers communicate with the fans from various countries...? Are there translators for scalpers? Do the Scalpers except traveling checks or Yen only? How about Visa, it is the only card excepted at the Olympics? Please let me know your thoughts on ticket scalping at the Olympics and which event you would pay the most to watch?

A side note: James Blake a quarter-finalist at Indy and Gilles Simon the 2008 Indianapolis Tennis championships Presented by Lilly Champion have both made it to the 3rd Round at the Beijing Olympics. The two will be competing against each other for a shot at a gold medal. Good luck Guys!

Results from today in Beijing (or last night if you're actually In Beijing):

James Blake (USA)      7(7) 4 6
Dominick Hrbaty (SVK)  6    6 3

 
James survives a close one, but advances to meet the 10th seeded and reigning Indy Champ Gilles Simon. Speaking of The Indy Championships..click here to buy your 2009 tickets! You're welcome, MH.

Roger Federer (SUI)   6 6
Rafael Arevalo (ESA)  2 4

 Another day at the office for the Rog, who meets Tomas Berdych in the third round.

Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)  7 6
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)   5 3
 
 
Can't say I'm suprised. But I am SHOCKED!!!

Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 6 6
Marin Cilic (CRO)       4 2

 
Cilic, fresh from a big win over Roddick in Toronto, couldn't bring it in versus the crafty Chilean. Gonzales meets Olivier Rochus next, who defeated Tipsarovic.

Novak Djokovic (SRB)    6 6
Rainer Schuettler (GER) 4 2

 Djokovic moves on to to face mikhail Youzhny. I expect one of them will win. Probably the one who wins the most games.

Gilles Simon (FRA)    7 6
Guillermo Canas (ARG) 5 1

 
Way to go, Gilles!! A rematch of this year's Indianapolis semifinal awaits.That and the adoration of millions of French people who suddenly lost interest in swimming.

Rafael Nadal (ESP)   6 6
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 1 2

 Nadal's 25 winners to Hewitt's 9 is all you need to know. About this match, not life in general.

In addition to the men's results, both Venus and Serena Williams won, which due to the absence of star power in the women's draw gives them the Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals by default.

Thanks, you've been great. We'll do this again tomorrow. Click here for complete Olympic results.