Baseball has the World Series. The NBA of course has the Finals. We all know about the Super Bowl, and even the Final Four. Each of these major sports has a championship, preceded by a season wherein the fans can get to know the competitors, follow the drama of the rivalries, and get ready for the marquee series, whether it be 7 games, or a tournament.
The tennis season on the other hand, like golf, is comprised of 4 major tournaments. Each of those tournaments, the AUSTRALIAN, the FRENCH OPEN, WIMBLEDON and the U.S OPEN has a series of lesser tournaments, which serve as the “season” for each major, in a run-up to the big competition. But until this year, there was no coordination of the television coverage of these feeder tournaments. Nor was there an incentive for the players to treat the warm-ups as anything other than that.
But this year, the WTA and the ATP have really put their marketing caps on, and will jointly and comprehensively promote each of the tournaments prior to the U.S.OPEN, which is August 30-September 12 in New York City. The effort was on full display to great effect yesterday afternoon, as LINDSAY DAVENPORT and VENUS WILLIAMS hammered away at each other in the finals of The Bank of The West tournament from Stanford University in Palo Alto.
The match was brilliant, with both women hitting at the top of their game. DAVENPORT hadn’t beaten VENUS in 4 years and 6 straight matches, but there she was winning the first set in a tiebreaker, and taking VENUS into a tiebreak in the 3rd set. The network, ESPN2, tried valiantly to set things up so that the two matches would dovetail into each other, but the intensity of the women’s competition spilled over into the first set of the men’s final from The Mercedes Benz Cup from the campus at UCLA in Los Angeles.
The dilemma was handled with surprising aplomb as ESPN cut from each tournament as if they were throwing to another court at the same venue. The relative announcers were all on the same page; the message was clear-the tennis hard court season had begun, and tennis fans were in for a treat. What’s more, those who found it difficult to be a tennis fan, not knowing when the tournaments could be seen on TV, not recognizing who the players were or what the tournament meant in the great scheme of things, not caring about who wins, had some help. This year just might be different.
As things turned out, LINDSAY DAVENPORT beat VENUS WILLIAMS in the 3rd set tiebreaker, and the coverage seamlessly switched over to TOMMY HAAS, a former number 2 in the world, beating NICOLAS KIEFER, a fellow German, in a surprisingly entertaining match. Neither KIEFFER or HAAS were seeded in their tournament, with HAAS knocking out ANDRE AGASSI Thursday night, and KIEFFER dismissing MARDY FISH, an up and coming American. But it didn’t much matter, we were tuned in and loving it.
Along the way, there were plenty of promos for next week’s coverage, as well as drop-ins about the new device. The top 3 players of the 10-week “season” receive bonus points, and have the opportunity to have their U.S OPEN money doubled. Aside from that, we as fans get to follow the sport in an organized, and coordinated way. And that’s true even if another network is covering the event. Bravo WTA and ATP. It’s about time.
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WOLFGANG and the gals.
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DIMENTIEVA, ZVONAREVA, PETROVA, KUZNETSOVA & SUGIYAMA
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WOLFGANG & SERENA
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And so, the JP MORGAN CHASE OPEN got underway today from Carson. California. The tournament is 34 years old, and has witnessed some of the sports most compelling match-ups. Past champions include BILLIE JEAN KING, MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, CHRIS EVERT, STEFFI GRAF, MONICA SELES, SERENA WILLIAMS and KIM CLIJSTERS. CHRIS EVERT and MARTINA NAVRATILOVA squared off in 4 finals. GRAFF and EVERT paired up in 1987. EVERT and GABRIELA SABATIN palyed each other in the finals in1988. MARTINA and SABATINI played for the title in 1989. MONICA SELES beat DAVENPORT in 1997. DAVENPORT bested MARTINA HINGIS in 1998. Are you getting the picture here. This tournament produces great finals match-ups. Last year’s winner KIM KLIJSTERS is out of action with an injury to her foot, but LINDSAY DAVENPORT, who lost to KIM is entered, and is coming off an impressive win over VENUS WILLIAMS. LINDSAY has been in the finals of this tournament 7 of the last 8 years, having won 3 times.
VENUS will compete as the number 2 seed, as will her sister SERENA in the number 1 spot. There is of course a strong contingent of Russian’s emboldened by the wins of ANASTACIA MYSKINA at Roland Garros and MARIA SHARAPOVA at Wimbledon. Both MYSKINA and SHARAPOVA passed on this competition, but ELENA DIMENTIEVA is seeded 4th, SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA is 5th, NADIA PETROVA is 7th and VERA ZVONAREVA is 8th, all with a renewed vigor to win tournaments.
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5th seed SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA
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6TH seed AI SUGIYAMA
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7th seed NADIA PETROVA
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An American long shot at this event might be CHANDA RUBIN, seeded 14th, but who has been in the finals twice, losing to CONCHITA MARTINEZ in 1995, and winning in 2002 over LINDSAY DAVENPORT.
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VENUS & SEREENA meet at the JP MORGAN CHASE OPEN
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If things go according to form, VENUS and SERENA could meet in the finals on Sunday. The two hadn’t seen each other in a week, and as VENUS told us, “there was extra gossip to catch up on.” On her match with LINDSAY, she said "it's been a while since I had a match like that and I'm looking to build on it." It’s a treat to have them both entered in the same tournament in Southern California. It’s also a treat to know that tennis may have finally gotten it’s act together. Not only is it a fantastic sport to play, but it’s also pretty great to watch, and there is real drama among the emerging personalities, which now will presented to the public more like other sports. As VENUS herself put it, "I'm so excited for the fans that tennis will be on every week leading up to the US OPEN."
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VENUS WILLIAMS looking fresh, coming off a tough loss at The Bank of the West Tournament.
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“I want to be number 1 more than anything right now. There's nothing like being on the top and that's where I want to be. You win, and get to be number 1 and then they expect you to win every time” joked SERENA WILLIAMS. On being knocked from the top, whether in tennis or any other venture, she had some sage advice, "You've never made it until they knock you down." As for the rest of the field climbing back off the true court, SERENA intends to knock them back down again. "I have to, I have no other choice”
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SERENA on regaining number 1, her bobble head doll, and life after tennis.
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The game is on!
The JP MORGAN CHASE OPEN runs through Sunday July 25th at Home Depot Center in Carson. The tennis center features a 13,000-seat stadium for center court, which will feature a SERENA WILLIAMS bobble head doll giveaway Friday, a fireworks extravaganza after Saturday night’s matches, and other promotions not to be missed. Wolfgang Puck has specially crafted a delectable menu for this tournament available starting Thursday night, and it is fantastic!
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WOLFGANG PUCK demonstrated his special menu for the JP MORGAN CHASE OPEN Tournament.
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