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<\/a>The overview of the US Open lay-out. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the big one at the top of the page.<\/p><\/div>\n
And what a different US Open this was!\u00a0 It was so weird to not have five of the top guys there, and at the same time, it was sort-of a pleasure.\u00a0 I loved seeing all the fresh faces, and was calmer for Roger as it went along, knowing he didn\u2019t have at least three of the other top men, (Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka,) to face along the way. [They were all out with injuries, along with Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic.]<\/p>\n
But the organizers should have moved everyone<\/em> up in the draw when Andy Murray dropped-out, after the draw was already done but two days before the Open began. They moved everyone up who was seeded lower than Andy, (who was #2,) except for #3 Roger Federer, whom they should have switched to the other half, where he would have had an easier time of it, with the opponents he would have had to face. [Note: They were just following the already set-out rules.] Oh well. It was what it was. It looked like no one would have beaten Rafa, anyway\u2014he was a man on fire!<\/p>\n And the women\u2019s side was also much more interesting without Serena Williams there. (She was having a baby, in case you\u2019ve been living under a rock. And, in keeping with her winning ways, she gave birth…on Labor Day!!! That woman has a charmed life!)<\/p>\n US Open Champion, Sloane Stephens.<\/p><\/div>\n It was wonderful for American tennis that the women\u2019s semi-finals were comprised of all Americans, but, since I\u2019m not a fan of any of them, I didn\u2019t get all giddy about it like the ESPN commentators did! By the end, I actually didn\u2019t mind the two who were in the Final, and I sort-of like Champion Sloane Stephens now. As I tweeted, even more amazing than Sloane\u2019s jump over nine hundred<\/em> places in the rankings in just seven weeks is the fact that she went from me<\/em> finding her totally unlikeable to now being happy for her in that same space of time!<\/p>\n And a very special congrats to Martina Hingis, who, twenty years after her US Open victory in the singles<\/em> competition, won both<\/em> of her doubles<\/em> Championships here this year\u2014the Ladies Doubles and the Mixed doubles\u2014and in back-to-back days, no less!!! What an accomplishment! You go, girl!!! (I really do think she should give singles<\/em> a whirl again\u2014I think she\u2019d do really well!)<\/p>\n Okay, now that all the official<\/em> stuff is out of the way, here are some of the notes I took during my two-week siege of watching just about every second of the tournament. (I, sadly, missed much of the action on just the first two days, when I was committed elsewhere, other than my couch<\/em>!) I\u2019ll try to explain my thoughts in the shortest way possible, but maybe this would be a good time to follow me on Twitter, because I tweet along the way, and you know that I\u2019m character-constrained on that platform! @MajorCelebrity.<\/p>\n Okay, let\u2019s get to them, in the order that I wrote them, (which is why some of my observations might be repeated occasionally):<\/p>\n \u2013 I hate that the announcers kept saying that each match was over far from the end<\/em>.\u00a0 And they always have it wrong, and never admit it.\u00a0 What is wrong with them???<\/p>\n Even Maria Sharapova has that underarm-to-boob fat! Good to know. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2013 Why do so many of these young ladies have stomachs sticking out?\u00a0 And members of both sexes don\u2019t stand-up straight. Shame.<\/p>\n \u2013 I was glad to see that a lot of these must-be-in-shape girls have that arm-to-boob fat.<\/p>\n \u2013 I get in such pain when the player I feel deserves to win, whether because they\u2019re the better athlete or the nicer person, or, in the case of Roger Federer, both, doesn\u2019t win.\u00a0 I actually have nightmares about it.\u00a0 When Roger was struggling in the second round, I actually had to go to sleep in the middle of the day to avoid the pain.\u00a0 And when I awoke, I had\u00a0a bad feeling and knew there was something happening in life that I didn\u2019t want to face. (But he pulled it out. Yay!)<\/p>\n \u2013 I absolutely detest Coco Vandeweghe.<\/p>\n \u2013 Rafa must exhaust himself with all his crazy superstitious machinations.\u00a0 I know how it is because I have many myself, but I don\u2019t do them every minute, as he does.<\/p>\n \u2013 His second round opponent, Taro Daniel from Japan, speaks English so well!!!\u00a0 And I have a feeling that Rafa is jealous of his hair.<\/p>\n \u2013 To the ESPN commentators: Please stop speaking for me by saying that everybody<\/em> wants to see Roger v. Rafa!\u00a0 I<\/em> do not!\u00a0 Ever<\/em>! (Unless it\u2019s a match that\u2019s already over, and Roger came out victorious, as in the Australian Open Final earlier this year.)<\/p>\n Adorable Taro Daniel. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2013 The most riveting match of the tournament was the Nadal-Daniels second rounder. I couldn\u2019t take my eyes off each and every point, which never happens with me.\u00a0 Even though I watch every second of the US Open, I often do crossword puzzles or organize the living room while I do so.\u00a0 So I more just listen to the entire proceedings and not keep my eyes on the TV every second.\u00a0 But I couldn\u2019t tear my eyes away from this one.\u00a0 Taro Daniel was a joy to watch.\u00a0 He more than hung in there<\/em> with Rafa\u2014he outplayed<\/em> him, for at least a set and a break. I just wish he could have kept it going until the end.<\/p>\n \u2013 This upset me all along, and I should have tweeted about it every day. ESPN should be ashamed of themselves for constantly running commercials for…guns!!! What is wrong with them??? Are they so desperate for the ad revenue that they choose to ignore human decency??? Besides that it\u2019s offensive to so many of their viewers, they should realize that a lot of young<\/em> people watch their coverage of sporting events, and that makes the showing of ads for firearms even worse. And adding to the shameful mix is that the adverts end with a gun being pointed right at us!!! I lost all respect for ESPN with this extreme stupidity and insensitivity on their part.<\/p>\n Miscah Zverev. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Hot Dog on a Stick employee!<\/p><\/div>\n \u2013 Mischa Zverev is so nice.\u00a0 You can\u2019t help but root for him.\u00a0 I\u2019m so glad he lasted longer than his little bro, Alexander, who\u2019s already in the Top 10, as a teen-ager!!!\u00a0 (Really<\/em> little bro\u2014he\u2019s more than ten years younger!)<\/p>\n — But why did he, and several other players, wear those hideous outfits??? The all looked like they work at Hot Dog on a Stick!!!<\/p>\n \u2013 Maria Sharapova was back from her drug suspension. And she looks the same as she did eleven years ago, when she won this thing!<\/p>\n \u2013 Here\u2019s just one of the reasons I love watching every second of tennis\u2014I learn so many interesting facts.\u00a0 Here\u2019s one, that I\u2019m happy to share with you: there was a women’s tennis match in 1984 that lasted over six hours<\/em>!\u00a0 And it was only two<\/em> sets! And they played one\u00a0point<\/em>\u00a0that went over 29 minutes!\u00a0 One point<\/em>!!!\u00a0 I had never heard of that before.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t see how that\u2019s even possible.\u00a0 I<\/em> would have thrown the point, just to be able to stop playing it. [Note: Here are the official scoops on it: The longest rally in the history of tournament play consisted of six hundred forty-three shots, which took twenty-nine minutes! OMG! The match was in 1984 between Vicky Nelson and Jean Hepner at the Virginia Slims tournament in Virginia\u2014Duh. It lasted six hours and twenty-two minutes, and was won by Vicky, 6-4, 7-6. It ended with a 13-11 tiebreak that went one hour and forty-seven minutes, during which that one amazing point was played. I just hope they had plenty of oxygen on hand, both for the players and the observers, who must have gasped, and held their breath, dozens of times!]<\/p>\n I never knew that Roger has hazel eyes! I think that’s because they’re so set-back, and they need light to be seen. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2013 I really detested that they kept saying that everyone<\/em> wanted to see Roger play Rafa here, because they never had played each other in this tourney before.\u00a0 I think I speak for all Roger fans when I say that we wish that Rafa had gone out earlier because he\u2019s Roger\u2019s arch-nemesis.\u00a0 I\u2019d always<\/em> rather see my beloved hero play someone easier.\u00a0 Duh.<\/p>\n \u2013 And have I mentioned that I absolutely detest Coco Vandeweghe?! She\u2019s such a douchebag.\u00a0And an awful sport.\u00a0 She made defeated opponent Aga Radwanska wait for the post-match handshake at the net while she walked away to celebrate.\u00a0 Even Chris Evert admitted that Coco is \u201carrogant out there,\u201d and the jingoistic commentators never say a word against any<\/em> Americans!<\/p>\n \u2013 On the other had, Coco\u2019s doubles partner, Shelby Rogers, seems so sweet.<\/p>\n \u2013 Elena Vesnina was lovely in her defeat.<\/p>\n \u2013 Why are so many American girls so unlikeable?\u00a0 I\u2019m taking to you, Madison Keys, Sloan Stephens, both Williams sisters, and especially Coco Vandeweghe. (And I can\u2019t believe that all four of them who were there wound-up being in the Semis!!!) [Note: I did<\/em> change my mind about Sloane and Madison after I wrote this, but not completely yet. But their behavior after the Final really helped me to begin to like them, at least, especially Sloane.]<\/p>\n — But I do<\/em> have to laud Venus Williams for not only staying in<\/em> the game for over two decades, but for remaining near the top<\/em> of it! Because of her excellence this year, she\u2019s now ranked #5, which is an amazing achievement!<\/p>\n Poor Madison Keys’ teeth. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2013 I hate that Madison begins every single sentence she says with, \u201cI mean…\u201d I know that a lot of people do the same nowadays, like idiots, but she really does use it all…the…time<\/em>!<\/p>\n \u2013 I\u2019m not being mean with this comment, because I don’t think that even good teeth will help the looks<\/em> of Madison Keys; I\u2019m talking health<\/em> here: Wouldn\u2019t you think that by now Madison Keys could afford braces already??? She really needs to get them now, or else I think she\u2019ll have real dental problems in a few years. Those Bucky Beavers really need to be pulled-back and filed-down. There are invisible braces now, so she really should look into them. Just sayin\u2019.<\/p>\n And Caroline Wozniacki’s teeth, which I never ever noticed before! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2013 Speaking of bad teeth, how have I missed those of Caroline Wozniacki all these years???<\/p>\n \u2013 Commentators Chris Fowler, John McEnroe, and Brad Gilbert should be ashamed of themselves for their rudeness to Philipp Kohlschreiber about how few team members were in his box during his fourth round match against Roger!!!\u00a0 It was disgusting, and they really need to apologize for their dreadful behavior.<\/p>\n \u2013 It\u2019s nice that four of the eight female quarterfinalists are American, but at the same time it\u2019s sad that not one of them is likable! [Note: See my previous note on this topic, three paragraphs above.]<\/p>\n \u2013 It\u2019s also weird that the final eight have only one of the top eight seeds<\/em> in them!!!\u00a0 And the men have only Roger and Rafa.<\/p>\n \u2013 I have to admit that Sloane was one of the most honest people in her on-court interview post-quarterfinal win.\u00a0 And she\u2019s the prettiest, and I soooo<\/em> appreciate that she wears make-up on the court!\u00a0 I wish they all<\/em> would!!! (Aga Radwanska is the only other glamour girl. And Maria Sharapova does it with her on-court wardrobe\u2014she really doesn\u2019t even need make-up! I hope you all caught her Swarovski crystal studded dresses this time.)<\/p>\n US Open finalists Kevin Anderson and Rafa Nadal…when they were twelve!!! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2013 What a super-long, super-late quarterfinal U.S. Open tennis match between American Sam Query and South African Kevin Anderson that was!\u00a0 (Kevin won, by the way, and then made it all the way to the Final! Good for him!)<\/p>\n \u2013 I have never even said this about Serena Williams, but Coco Vandeweghe is a c-word!\u00a0 Truly.\u00a0 Because her opponent did an unsuccessful challenge, she told the umpire that she deserved an extra serve, saying it was a \u201cdelay of game!\u201d\u00a0 Challenges are a natural part of the game, with never<\/em> a penalty attached, yet Coco feels that she should get special consideration.\u00a0 As usual. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it.\u00a0 Also, when she was asked in an interview if she and a fellow American girl would share their insights into a player she had played against in the past, and the other girl would now be playing, she answered that no\u2014this is a solitary<\/em> game, and something to the effect that she\u2019s out for herself.\u00a0 See what I mean about her being a c-word?!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>