How do you like your tennis? Because choices, you’ve got choices Saturday
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It is the first Saturday of the U.S. Open if you have either a ground ticket or a Ashe Stadium ticket, you are unwrapping quite a bag of tennis goodies. And if you went on Friday, you had quite the day.
I mean, start your day on Ashe by appreciating the otherworldy tennis of the best ever, Roger Federer, against a former champion Lleyton Hewitt, a cranky Aussie who doesn’t believe his day is gone. He will fight hard but his game isn’t suited to Federer’s imperious elegance and his classic game of serve a volley and that’s first up at 8 a.m. PT. And that’s not even the best match on Saturday’s schedule.
Wanna watch to big-swinging, goofball Americans, you will be offered Andy Roddick and his crackerjack serve aginst 6-9 John Isner. I mean, face it, Isner can be awful or impenetrable and while that offers intrigue and will certainly give us gluttonous points, Roddick isn’t going to be crazy about dealing with the offerings from the 6-9 John Isner but the tennis will be worthy.
And how about bubbly Melanie Oudin. She’s 17, she shrieks and giggles and plays with no conscience, She whacks away at line, she slaps balls over the net and the imperious Maria Sharapova isn’t going to quite know what to make of her.Melanie is only 5-6 and she’s fearless and slaps winners on line and then giggles. We’ll get the hot flavor of the day, John Isner, 6 feet 9 and all bendy and a little clumsy and definitely trouble for fifth-seeded Andy Roddick, who is the favorite of the hard after his Wimbledon heartbreak.
At night, we’ll be offered a mini passion play as tortured and top-seeded Dinara Safina plays out all her doubts on a tennis court. Is she good enough? Why is she No. 1? Why do people keep expecting her to win a major tournament just because she is No. 1. What does one have to do with the other, that pesky No. 1 and winning a Grand Slam tournament. Cool stuff Saturday.And we haven’t even gotten to James Blake and his wants and needs as a 30-year-old tennis player. He’ll be out against Tommy Robredo in what could be a real late night. I mean Safina can’t play under 2 hours, 30 minutes, and smash a couple rackets, and ask anyone around what do do. Saturday is going to be a curious day that might last till 2 or 3 a.m. Count on it. How much more fun can a tennis fan have? I just don’t know.
-- Diane Pucin