A Quad Citian, Down Under

I wonder if Keys grew up on
Happy Joe's taco pizza like I did. 

POSTED BY BESS: There's a Quad-Citian in the quarterfinals of a major, you guys! Has this ever happened in the history of the Open Era of ever? 

Last night I got to watch the Quad Cities' own Madison Keys cream Madison Brengle in what someone more clever than I dubbed the "Madison Squared" Garden match-up. 

I'm thrilled with Madison's win. It's almost like she's becoming a top contender right before our eyes. With Lindsay Davenport on board, as Dave pointed out, all the pieces of her immense talent appear to be falling into place. 

ZOMG! - I just realized... Madison is from the Quad Cities, and she is now being coached by Davenport... which is the name of one of the Quad Cities! It's like it was MEANT TO BE. 

I may need to take a moment. I've just rocked my own world with this realization.

OK. Channeling some of Madison's new focus and control... Let's calmly move on.

Venus is on a roll...

Also last night/this morning, I woke up just in time to see Venus beat Aggie Radwanska. What more can we say about Venus? Dave and I both love rooting for her, and to see her get this far is really more than I had hoped for/predicted. 

I did have Venus playing Aggie in my bracket, but I had Aggie winning. I'm thrilled to be wrong. 

For the record, Andy Roddick is on board with the Venus resurgence as well: 

Love it when Andy chimes in on the tennis action.  Doesn't happen often enough, IMHO.

Now for the inner turmoil... 

In tomorrow night's quarterfinals, Madison and Venus face off against each other. What is this Sophie's Choice of mine!? I have no idea who I'll root for during that match, all I know is I hope it lives up to its potential... I plan to be on the edge of my seat. 

Tonight's action promises to be eventful as well. Already:

• Simona Halep (my pick to win it all) went out with barely a whimper to Ekaterina Makarova. So there ends any discussion of my bracket-picking prowess. It was fun being in the top 1 percent while it lasted...
• Genie Bouchard just simply didn't show up for her match against Maria Sharapova. So disappointing. What's worse, I mistakenly told Dave he wouldn't miss this match while teaching his night class.  I hope our friendship withstands this [latest] infraction! 

Gratuitous Rafa photo

Still to come tonight:

• Murray/Kyrgios is sure to have the Aussies in a tizzy. 
• And Rafa/Berdych is sure to have me in a tizzy. 

Hopefully by then Dave and I will be on speaking terms again. 

Oi, oi, oi.

Who are these people?!

POSTED BY DAVE: Earlier, I was talking with a good friend on the phone, while keeping an eye on the muted television set. The SAG Awards were underway. He and I joked about getting older, and no longer knowing who some of the award nominees are -- or even the performances in which they were involved. Has this happened to you yet? It's truly sobering.

Tennis never used to be like this. I would plant myself in front of the screen for hours, watching every player and every point. When I was really young, I would even mimic the players' movements. This is, I believe, how I learned my version of Graf's slice backhand. It's not quite as lethal, but it's pretty darn good. Me and Steffi? We won quite a few Slams together; she actually doing all of the sweating and competitive work, me just floating along at home, her adoring shadow. Oh, how I miss you, Steffi.

Nick Kyrgios, #53 in the world. (Photo: Ludbey/NCA)

So, I'll admit that until his surprising win over Seppi, I had never heard of Nick Kyrgios. You, either? Well, here's what I know now. He's 19 years old. Currently ranked #53 in the world. Has played pro tennis for two years. And, until now, had never made it farther than the third round of a major. His next opponent? Murray.

And then there's Halep. She's #3 in the world, yet if you showed me a picture of her off-court, I would never recognize her in a million years. You, either? Then you should swallow your pride, and realize that she's currently ranked #3 in the world. She's a 23 year-old Romanian who has played professional tennis for nine years. In 2013, she won the first of her six WTA titles. Since then, she has made the French Open final and the WTA year-end final. Her next opponent in Australia? Makarova.

Simona Halep, #3 in the world. (Photo: Zee News)

You'd think with smartphones and the Internet and social media that it would be easier to keep up with the changing faces of our sport. Then again, maybe all of that information flying around makes player recognition even more difficult for cheer-from-home fans like me.

Forgive me. I need to go now. Muguruza (another player I don't know) has been battling Serena. I like this gal's serve. I'm going to rewind the DVR, stand up and play along for a game or two, much like a poor man's version of Wii. I hope to add some much-needed snap to my own serve. Somewhere, Steffi is smiling.

BESS REPLIES: The image of Dave playing along with Steffi is priceless! How had I not heard that story? No wonder he's so enamored with her... to this day. They've been through so much together! Love it.

I'm going to go on record as saying all three of the players Dave mentioned above were, indeed, on my radar. I've been (incorrectly) picking Halep to win majors since mid-2014 at least (ages ago at this point!) and, in fact, picked her to win this one. I would have recognized her off court for sure. 

While I still would have trouble recognizing Muguruza off court, I do remember her impressive win over Serena from last year. And was rooting for the same today. (Alas.)

Perhaps that's why my WTA Racquet Bracket picks are currently ranked 48th out of 5,573? Sorry, Dave... trying not to gloat (about my scores or the fact that I filled out my picks online and can therefore check such interesting stats). But... I'm a tad bit proud. 

Let's just agree not to ask about my men's picks anymore.

Oh and speaking of the men, Kyrgios was well on my radar (by both name and face) thanks to his defeat of Rafa last year at Wimbledon. I still haven't quite forgiven him. If there were a MOST WANTED poster on my bedroom wall, featuring the mugs of young upstarts who have unceremoniously knocked Rafa out of majors, Kyrgios's photo would be front and center, right alongside Lukas Rosol. #neverforget

Apparently this is Madison Brengle

If I'm being completely honest, though, I will admit that of the American women who made it to the third round, there were two I still couldn't pick out of a line-up: 

• Madison Brengle (who is playing Madison Keys momentarily) 
• And Varvara Lepchenko (who lost to Aggie Radwanska) 

I think it says something about the state of American women's tennis when I can't pick the 4th ranked American woman (Lepchenko) out of a line-up. Or it says something about me. Likely the latter. 

Varvara Lepchenko, ladies and gentlemen,
our 4th ranked American woman

Brengle, however, is currently 11th in the list of U.S. women, so I'm guessing I'm not so alone there. But she's making a name for herself as we speak.

And with that, I'm off to cheer for the Madisons! 

TENNIS FANS: Are you willing to admit you don't recognize some WTA or ATP players? If so, who?