The US Open is where Jimmy Connors won 5 titles and went from american psycho (apologies to Mr Bateman) to american hero. It’s also the place where John McEnroe showed Bjorn Borg that it was nearly impossible for him to win a Grand Slam title outside of Europe. Chris Evert and Martina Navratiliova, Billie Jean King and Margaret Court, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles had epic battles on the women’s side to show that tennis should be played one way- all out, hold nothing back.
I’ve been to the US Open twice, and loved it. I love the feeling of the big tournament where the worlds best get together to knock a fuzzy yellow ball around and then whine about if they kept it in the right spot. Great atmosphere for the most part, matches going on somewhere on the grounds that’s worth watching, and if not, you can see the pros at the practice courts (which is better than watching them play an actual match in some cases)
So why do I title this “The bottom rung of the Slams?”
I’ve watched coverage on TV, and (especially this year) in the middle of a match, its necessary for the network to turn to a celebrity in the stands and ask them questions for 20 minutes instead of keeping the camera on the match. I have no interest in what Jeremy Piven is doing on Entourage, how the NY Giants are going to do this season, or if Cameron Diaz is with her boyfriend or with her…”boyfriend”.
I’ve sat next to spectators who have no problem yelling directly to a player and ask them to “do something sexy”, in the case of Maria Sharapova from a guy sitting next to me in the front row, instead of thinking “Holy deity of your choice, she’s crushing the ball!” The last time something like that happened at Wimbledon, security escorted the lady out. She was streaking, but thats not my point.
Scheduling for the matches leaves players starting close to midnight, leaving the court at nearly 3am. Wimbledon and Roland Garros (the artist formerly known as the French Open) don’t have lights, and can’t do this, and many matches have gone into a 5th set or 3rd set on the women’s side at……..8:00pm (gasp) and had to stop and start again the next day at 11:00am (double gasp..ahh….I’m winded). At least there’s some sense, though, for the thought that players might not want to to playing tennis at 3am. I know its there job, but the last time I worked an overnight shift I got paid time and a half and the loser of these late matches isn’t getting paid time and a half. He or she is making, with one match, about what I made in a year at that time without time and a half. Thats not really my point, though.
It just seems like at the other three Slams there’s a sense of importance that the US Open used to have. Maybe it’s just in my mind, but when I see US Open results on the 4th page in on the sports section of the local rag, it starts to tell me where tennis and the US Open stand. At least if I watch Wimbledon or, by some strange alignment of the stars I get to go, I won’t be treated to next season’s spoilers for Entourage.
