Three stars, one grateful fan

POSTED BY DAVE: Let me talk about three shining stars, all of whom happen to be Americans. (Call me biased or patriotic. Guilty, as charged.) Here goes:

First, who the heck is Steve Johnson?! I'm not sure how he became the #2 American, and ranked #38 in the world, without having previously been on my radar. At all. Plus, I have learned that he won 72 consecutive matches in college AND back-to-back NCAA singles titles? Wow! This guy is just so impressive. Power, placement, poise: he's got it all.

Introducing Steve Johnson. The next great American? (Photo: AFP)

Johnson lost his 3R match to #5 seed Nishikori (who was on my radar years ago, long before his recent ascent). The result isn't what matters to me, though. What I'd like to note is Johnson's maturity, on and off-court.  He seems all about the tennis, and not one for talking smack, pumping his ego, and so on. So refreshing. I'm really eager to see if his star keeps rising, and if he can stay so grounded. Perhaps our next great American champion?

Madison Keys (Photo: USA Today)

On to the next bright American star: Madison Keys. Personally, I haven't been on the Keys bandwagon like so many others, including Bess. (Keys is from the Quad Cities, where Bess grew up.) She's got power, yes; who's going to deny that?! But, she's always seemed like a loose cannon. When her shots are on, she's amazing. When they're not, she doesn't have any sort of Plan B. (Note: I tell my students all of the time that it's much easier to be a critic than a champion. So, Madison, I mean no disrespect at all. I wouldn't last 20 seconds on the court with someone as talented as you!)

Keys' style resonates with me, because coming up with a Plan B has always been my challenge playing tennis. I've got some power, and I'm not too shabby at placement. But, unlike Johnson, I don't have consistent poise. I didn't think Keys had it, either, but her new coach (and one of my favorites of all-time!) Lindsay Davenport must be having a positive impact. Keys seemed to be self-controlled all the way through her 3R victory over Kvitova. If she stays in this mindset, watch out!

Venus Williams, a true champion in every sense of the word.

Finally, I want to give a special shout-out to my favorite Williams sister. (Sorry, Serena.) Venus, I have spent nearly as much time watching and reading your interviews this week, as watching matches. Your news conferences have been especially gratifying to watch.

To be honest, I feel that you have long been one of the most gracious players, female or male. I see that increasingly in you, as you age, and as you contend with health struggles. I admire your composure and your sense of gratitude, for still being able to compete at such a high level. You truly let your tennis do the talking these days, just like upstarts Johnson and Keys are learning to do.

Your status as a dominant tennis star may be starting to fade a bit, just as theirs are rising. But, to me, you shine as brightly as ever, if not more so. Thanks for being such a great ambassador for the sport.

BESS REPLIES: Dave's stats about Steve Johnson are all news to me. Impressive, indeed!

I echo Dave's comments about Venus. It's almost as if her health condition and related on-court challenges make her more relatable to so many of us who aren't superstar athletes. And, as Dave says, because she seems to be so grateful to be out there--so joyous.

Venus is old (by tennis standards) and her Sjogren's Syndrome makes her energy level unpredictable. She is no longer the favorite to win, and has had more than her share of early exits in the past several years (despite my always hopeful predictions). She also has a tennis apparel line, other business ventures and arguably many other distractions. All perfectly good reasons many people would cite as they threw in the towel. But she's out there going for it, loving her sport perhaps more than ever and relishing every moment.

Venus is so easy to root for, and count me among those hoping she can keep this run going Down Under and throughout the coming season! Count David Law, of BBC tennis, a fan as well:

And what can I say about Madison Keys? Her work these past few months with Davenport has clearly paid off. You can see why they'd be such a great match when you see Keys thumping those shots with all that power. Watching her go toe-to-toe with Kvitova throughout that whole match was great fun. (Also great fun to see Lindsay in the stands, so invested in these matches!)

Heck, even Feliciano Lopez is a fan:

In the next round Keys plays another young American named Madison Brengle. Keys claims they're excited to play each other and happy that no matter who wins there will be a Madison in the quarter finals. Setting my alarm for that match!

TENNIS FANS: Have you been cheering for Johnson, Keys, and/or Venus? Or, are there other upstarts or veterans who are your favorites? (They don't even need to be Americans!) Please share, and tell us why!

Men's Quarters, Bracket update

Posted by BESS: So Fed loses. From two sets up to being simply outplayed. While I mourn his loss, I have to rejoice for Tsonga, because he's just so darn jubilant. And his performance was quite impressive.

I agree with the commentators who were criticizing Federer for seeming to go down without a fight. In two of the other matches today you saw players adeptly adjusting their strategy in order to turn things around. Not so with Fed. He stubbornly kept plodding away with his losing strategy. And while his calm demeanor is often something to admire, at times like this it also makes him seem indifferent.

I have no doubt he wanted to win. I just didn't really see the evidence.

Aside from Fed's continued dejectory (my new term for a downward trajectory that makes me sad), we're now also not likely to see Pete Sampras at Sunday's final. If Fed had been playing in the final with a chance to tie Pete's record seven Wimbledon titles, Pete likely would have been on hand to witness it. I don't know why I care about that--Pete was never my favorite player--but it's just sort of fun. Adds a little je ne sais quoi to the wonder that is Breakfast at Wimbledon.

Perhaps next year, Fed. Perhaps next year, Pete.

Later in the day Nadal beat the lone remaining American, Mardy Fish. Fish just couldn't muster the type of tennis he's been delighting us with all tournament. There were glimmers in that third set, and a tad in the fourth, but he was the lesser player today. I'm sad for him, but I hope he's proud of the effort he made in this tournament--his best result at Wimbledon yet.

Meanwhile, the Djoker beat rising star Tomic. But that wasn't even the worst Djokovic news of the day... No, no. The worst news is that if Djokovic wins his semi-final on Friday, he will become the No. 1 player, knocking Nadal out of the top spot. Blurgh. Can I live in a world where the Djokster is No. 1? I hope I don't have to find out. At least not this week.

And, in utterly uncompelling news, Murray beat Lopez in straight (and likely boring) sets. Take that, United Kingdom! I simply don't care if Murray wins or loses! Except on Friday when he'll play Nadal. Then Murray should lose.


B-R-A-C-K-E-T U-P-D-A-T-E

Dave and I tied this round, both picking three correct on the men's side and two correct on the women's. My, my.

Standings after the quarterfinals...

Bess
Men: 91/124
Women: 72/124
Total: 163/248

Dave
Men: 78/124
Women: 69/124
Total: 147/248

We're getting down to the nitty gritty now. Women's semis tomorrow!

Pressing on

So Roddick lost today. Straight sets to "Deliciano" Lopez, as some of the women (including Andy Murray's mom!?) are calling him. Yes, Lopez is somewhat dreamy. And he's also good pals with Nadal. And he played a great match today. So I guess I should start rooting for him.

But first I'll feel a little sad for Roddick. Although it was somewhat heartening to hear in his post-match press conference that he felt this loss was easier to take than last year's because, as he said, "I got beat." Roddick didn't give up or play poorly; he felt Lopez was simply the better player today.

Here's the thing about Roddick press conferences: They make me jumpy. Roddick can be funny, and he's usually pretty honest--which is refreshing. But he can also be blunt. And he takes NO crap from the journalists there, and at times dishes some out. He's not afraid to call out a journalist for asking a stupid question. And he doesn't like questions that make assumptions or are designed to take him somewhere he doesn't want to go.

I have a certain amount of respect for all that. But the way he handles it doesn't always put me at ease. I find just about every Roddick press conference at least partly cringe-worthy.

Today I thought he did a good job. A little testy at times, but given the circumstances, I expected to cringe more than I did.

However, my favorite exchanges was this (paraphrased because I'm too lazy to find it online and transcribe it...)

• Journalist: As you get older, do you ever think that maybe this dream of yours--winning Wimbledon--might not happen?

• Andy: Of course! I'm human. [pauses, looks directly at the reporter] And you may never get your dream job. No offense to your current employer.

His delivery was priceless. I actually laughed out loud, as did many of the journalists in the room.

And that is what can make the cringing worth it.

On a sidenote, one of my favorite Roddick interview moments is from the 2008 U.S. Open, when asked about Djokovic's injuries. (Djokovic used to have a LOT of medical issues during matches; it seemed somewhat suspect.) Asked about whether it was a left ankle or right ankle injury, Roddick starts riffing on all possible maladies Djokovic is suffering from, including "a back and a hip... a cramp... bird flu... anthrax... SARS... common cough and cold." I think it was the use of the phrase "common cough and cold" that won me over. Funny!

You can see it here.

Back to today's loss... Lots of debate in the studio about what it may take for Roddick to make a true run at another major title before he retires. Here's hoping he can do it. After winning the U.S. Open in 2003, he's made it to four major finals (impressive) losing ALL FOUR TIMES to Federer. That's got to sting.

For now, we wait and see.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams won her match handily today. And then visited with Hannah Storm and Chris Evert in the studio for a great interview. Perhaps the Williams' sisters' time away has served as a palate cleanser of sorts, but I really appreciated everything she had to say and enjoyed the interview more than I expected. Who'd a thunk it?

And she and Roddick both handled the Serena/Court Two issue well, when asked.

On a final note, many of today's matches ended up canceled due to rain, which begs the question... is it raining more in England these days, or in Iowa? It could be a toss-up.

Such beautiful people ...

...playing such beautiful tennis today! Exhibit A: the British upstart, Laura Robson, against mi amour Maria Sharapova. (You may recall Robson as the teenager who got in trouble last year for calling her WTA competitors 'sluts'; she's been back in the news lately as part of the 'planking' craze.) Both players are such beautiful people who also happen to strike the ball beautifully. Truly a joy to watch!

Before you call me sexist, the equally beautiful (and long-maned, just like Robson and Sharapova) Feliciano Lopez is playing my other 'mi amour' Andy Roddick. I would post photos of all of these peeps, for your convenience, but Bess and I are still working out how we can post images without breaking copyright law. In the meantime, enjoy the links provided to their official tour profiles.

Speaking of beautiful people, have you seen Rabbit Hole starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart? I was caught up on matches last night, so I took a break to watch this movie. It's a powerful film about grief with some subtle, yet superb, acting. Plus, Eckhart's character, Howie, plays squash. (Squash!!!) Who plays squash anymore?! Or ever, for that matter? I so want to try playing squash now. And preferably against Eckhart. Or, better yet, Roddick. His shoulder should be wearing out soon, so maybe I'd stand a chance. Maybe?

Uh oh, A-Rod

No, not that A-Rod. Tennis's version... Andy Roddick.

As I prepare to leave for a day of volunteering at the Des Moines Arts Festival, Roddick is now down 2 sets to 0 against Feliciano Lopez. Admittedly I don't know much about Lopez's game, but I didn't see this one coming.

I'm not the world's hugest Roddick fan, but I do cheer for him to do well, and he's been looking pretty good until today. Here's hoping he can find a way to pull this one out and continue his journey toward the second week.

On a funnier note--earlier they were showing side-by-side coverage of Roddick's match on Centre Court and Maria Sharapova's match on Court One. I thought, "Oh, look at that--two Americans battling to come from behind to win the first set." It wasn't until about half an hour later that I remembered Sharapova's not an American. Ha! But, really, at this point she sort of qualifies, right? ;-)

Here's to a good day of tennis for all my favorite players... American or not.