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Talk of the Town

ROGER FEDERER New Yorkers reveal what makes the icon one of their own

Plus:

VENUS WILLIAMS

The 37-year-old’s season for the ages isn’t over yet

ANDY RODDICK

The Hall of Famer on where he stands among the game’s greats

RENÉE RICHARDS

Forty years later, her US Open journey is as important as ever

GAEL MONFILS

The explosive creativity of the fastest man in tennis S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 17

TENNIS.COM

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Sept/Oct 2017

4 CHRISSIE’S VIEW

by Chris Evert

6 TALKING POINTS by Peter Bodo & Nina Pantic

10 COURT OF APPEALS with Rebel Good

12 THE PRO SHOP by Jon Levey

80 PARTING SHOT by Stephen Tignor

FIRST SERVE The essentials for your tennis lifestyle 14 FITNESS Playing during pregnancy can beneﬁt a woman’s health by Nina Pantic

18 NUTRITION Fuel up and satisfy cravings with this three-course ﬁx by Andrew Friedman

22 TRAVEL Turn your vacation into a wellness retreat in Maui by Rebecca Wallwork

38 Holding Court

Inside the most intimate—and potentially terrifying—job in tennis

42 Heart of the City Our 19-page special on Roger Federer’s unique connection to NYC

27 TOUR GUIDE A closer look at the tours’ year-end championships by Ed McGrogan

MASTER CLASS 64 “I’ll be in the Room” Andy Roddick’s Hall of Fame career may be getting better with age

68 Summer of ’77: Part 3

...........................................................

72 GREAT SHOTS Gael Monﬁls’ swing volley by John Yandell

The ’77 US Open was the culmination of Renée Richards’ lifelong journey

PLUS: Conversation Series: US Open

Our experts help you improve your game, one stroke at a time

74 FREEZE FRAME Venus Williams’ forehand by John Yandell

76 THE GIGI METHOD Unorthodox formations by Gigi Fernandez

TENNIS (ISSN 0040-3423) IS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY. VOL. 53, NO. 5. COPYRIGHT © 2017 BY THE TENNIS MEDIA COMPANY LLC., 48 WEST 21ST STREET, 6TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10010. REPRODUCTION WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. TITLE “TENNIS” REGISTERED U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, CANADA AND OTHER COUNTRIES. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION–IPM AGREEMENT NO. 1239007. MANUSCRIPTS AND ART: THE PUBLISHER ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR RETURN OF UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, ART, PHOTOS, OR NEGATIVES. SUBSCRIPTIONS: USTA MEMBERS: (800) 990-8782 OR MEMBERSERVICES@USTA.COM. ALL OTHER SUBSCRIBERS: U.S. AND CANADA (800) 666-8336, FOREIGN (386) 246-0427 OR TENNIS@EMAILCUSTOMERSERIVCE.COM. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: U.S.A. AND POSSESSIONS: $18 U.S./YEAR. CANADA: $35 U.S./YEAR (INCLUDES GST). FOREIGN: $50 U.S./YEAR. CANADIAN GST REGISTRATION NO. 123688483RT****. BACK ISSUES: WWW.TENNIS.COM/BACKISSUES. CHANGE OF ADDRESS OR SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS: SEND YOUR MAGAZINE LABEL ALONG WITH YOUR NEW ADDRESS OR DETAILS OF YOUR PROBLEM TO TENNIS, P.O. BOX 433188-3188 PALM COAST, FL 32143-3188. PLEASE ALLOW EIGHT WEEKS FOR THE CHANGE TO AFFECT DELIVERY. ADDRESS ALL NON-SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE TO TENNIS, 48 WEST 21ST STREET, 6TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10010. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO TENNIS, P.O. BOX 433188-3188 PALM COAST, FL 32143-3188. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW YORK, NY, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES.

2 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

AP; WESLEY BEDROSIAN (ILLUSTRATION)

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Marquee Attraction

There’s nothing quite like the US Open. The other Grand Slams have their own unique charms and attractions, but there’s something about the late-summer vibe in New York City that makes the Open so distinctive. The media capital of the world, boisterous crowds, and players vying to end their summers on a high note combine to create an electric atmosphere. Perhaps it’s the proximity to Broadway, but a memorable performance can come from anywhere—an upstart on a packed side court, or a headliner in one of the stadiums. For more than 15 years, there has been no greater showstopper than Roger Federer. Americans love to pull for their own, but they treat the Swiss star like an honorary citizen. The five-time champion’s cool demeanor and flashy shot-making have captivated the Open audiences for more than a decade; his evening matches are appointment viewing for the tournament faithful. Even his keen sense of style—from his haircuts to his all-black “Darth Federer” outfit—has endeared him to the fashion-conscious crowd. (Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue, dives deeper into this part of the Federer persona on page 42.) We don’t know how many more appearances the 36-year-old will be making in Flushing Meadows. Last year, a knee injury prevented Federer from playing the US Open for the first time since 1999. Over that period, Federer has

4 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

evolved from supremely gifted prospect to dominant champion, and now elder statesman. He continues to remain a threat at the majors, long after many peers from his generation have retired. One of those contemporaries, Andy Roddick—the man he defeated in the 2006 US Open ﬁnal—was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this summer. I’ve known Andy since his early teens when he trained brieﬂy at the Evert Academy. I watched him grow into a top player, overwhelming opponents with his massive serve and forehand. He represented his country proudly and with distinction in Davis Cup, helping the U.S. win the title in 2007. He was always respected in the locker room and by the press for his authenticity—there weren’t many better

quotes than Andy’s—and charisma. But more importantly, I’m thrilled with the intelligent, thoughtful and solid person he has become. Now an ambassador for the game, I’m sure Roddick will be watching this year’s US Open with interest. With what looks to be a nearly full ﬁeld on the women’s side (minus Serena Williams, of course) there’s the makings of an intriguing tournament. Maria Sharapova should be playing her ﬁrst major since her suspension, Victoria Azarenka will be back in action from maternity leave and Petra Kvitova has recovered from a home invasion incident. As majors go this season, the Open could have the best attendance from the biggest names in the women’s game. But Federer’s return will undoubtedly be the Open’s main attraction. His stellar play on hard courts earlier this season only fuels the anticipation. New Yorkers, and tennis fans everywhere, will want to catch Federer and his singular act before the curtain falls.

Chris Evert Partner, TENNIS Magazine

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Talking Points

The Name Game US Open faces an interesting challenge. It is dominated · The by Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest arena in the world dedicated solely to tennis. But last year, the USTA introduced a stunning new Grandstand to replace the one that was once an appendage of the now-demolished Louis Armstrong Stadium. It cries out for a name—as does Court 17, that gem of an arena that has been neglected since its debut in 2011.

“There could be a lot of commercial appeal in selling the naming rights, but we’re not going that way,” says Chris Widmaier, the USTA’s managing director of corporate communications. “We’ve talked about various ideas as it relates to the infrastructure, but selling the naming rights isn’t in the picture now.” The plan remains for Grandstand and Court 17 to retain their current, barebones identiﬁers. Besides Ashe, only the new Louis Armstrong Stadium will have a proper name, as part of the USTA’s agreement with the landowner, New York City. 6 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

All this raises an interesting question: Whose names should these stadia bear if the USTA ever decides it wants to keep up with the Grand Slam Joneses? Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen are married forever as, respectively, the main and second-most important stadiums at Roland Garros. Rod Laver and Margaret Court are Australian tennis legends and also names of arenas in Melbourne. (The best you can do at Wimbledon is get a mound of dirt named in your honor.) The conundrum: the U.S. has produced a slew of iconic and deserving players.

“What’s the right thing?” Widmaier asks. “It’s part of the problem. There are so many worthy candidates.” Richard Sears, Bill Larned and Bill Tilden each won seven US Open titles— and Molla Mallory won eight—but all of them played before the Open era. Should we relegate them to the yellowing pages of Bud Collins’ Tennis Encyclopedia? With each passing day, the divide between the amateur and Open eras widens. It makes the accomplishments of Chris Evert and Serena Williams, the only players in the Open era who have won more than five US Open titles, all the more impressive. Evert, immensely popular in her playing days and active in the sport since her retirement, would be an excellent choice. Williams isn’t finished yet. It’s been tough enough on most rivals to face her on the court; imagine how it would feel having to walk into a stadium bearing her name. There are three five-time men’s US Open champs—and one, Jimmy Connors, has been waiting to get his due. When he heard that a new stadium was being named for Ashe, he reportedly groused to one associate that Ashe had but one US Open title, while he had won five. Sometimes the world seems unfair, and maybe that’s a good thing. Ashe was a role model, while some parents wouldn’t let their children observe Connors’ shenanigans. The other five-time champions are Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. Sampras’ dignity and fighting spirit—from his memorably gruesome win over Alex Corretaja in 1996 to his swan-song title run in 2002—make him a great candidate for a named stadium. Federer, of course, is Swiss. But given his VIP status in NYC, I wouldn’t put anything past him. John McEnroe, a four-time champ, is also a fine choice. Being a New Yorker, he would please many in the city that loves to brag on itself. And while Andre Agassi won just two US Open titles, his transformation from a shallow, image-obsessed bad boy into a passionate advocate for childhood education would qualify him. It’s a tough call. But maybe Widmaier has a point: let sleeping champions lie.

F O R P R O T O U R C O M M E N TA RY F R O M P E T E R B O D O A L L Y E A R LO N G , V I S I T T E N N I S . C O M

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Grandstand; Court 17? We can do better, but it’s not that simple.

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Talking Points

Center Stage often asked if I get tired of writing about tennis, with the · I’m same handful of names always dominating the headlines. After some of the astounding storylines that have unfolded this year—many produced by those familiar names—I’m getting that question less and less. Even more pertinent is this: tennis is at its highest point of popularity in decades.

Earlier this year, Serena Williams and Roger Federer stole the spotlight when they won the Australian Open in their mid-30s. They wowed again a few months later, this time at the Met Gala in New York City, with Federer donning a Gucci tuxedo with a crystal snake design, and Williams proudly toting a baby bump. It was hardly the first time either superstar has made waves off the court. Federer’s friendship with Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour is well documented (the fashion maven has also been linked to Caroline Wozniacki and Grigor Dimitrov), while Williams—when she wasn’t filming a music video with her pal 8 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

Beyoncé—went on to grace the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue with Wozniacki and Eugenie Bouchard. In June, a pregnant Williams was on the cover of Vanity Fair. It was little surprise, then, to see Federer at No. 4, and Williams at No. 19, on this year’s ESPN World Fame 100 list, the company’s measure of the “most famous athletes on the planet.” In fact, tennis players comprised 10 percent of the entire list. Only soccer, golf and basketball had more representation. Taking the sport’s cultural relevance even further, two feature ﬁlms about tennis are coming out in September—

Battle of the Sexes, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell, and Borg/McEnroe, featuring Shia LaBeouf. No word on any player cameos, but considering Novak Djokovic’s public bromance with actor Gerard Butler, you never know. Part of the explanation for tennis’ recent pop-culture boom is social media. Athletic success begets a dedicated following, which in turn boosts the number of eyes on the sport. Fans hunger to be closer to athletes because they admire their talents, but also to catch glimpses into their normal, everyday lives. By tweeting to his 7.5 million followers, Federer turns himself into an everyman, when he’s everything but that on the court. By contrast, Andy Murray rarely ever tweets, and yet he still has 3.7 million Twitter followers. When the Scot wants to say something, he knows he’ll be heard. All of this additional attention is taking tennis far beyond its typical boundaries. The court of public opinion was abuzz about Maria Sharapova—candy magnate and the richest female athlete on the planet for 11 years—after her doping suspension last year. The controversy sparked debates around the world, many between people who had likely never watched the Russian hit a single tennis ball. Petra Kvitova’s inspirational comeback at Roland Garros, after an armed home invasion put her career in jeopardy, was a story that transcended traditional tennis fandom. Around the same time, Margaret Court’s comments against same-sex marriage sparked widespread outrage, with prominent voices like John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova taking a stand for something far greater than sport. Tennis players are celebrities in their own right, and have been for some time. But the increasingly global reach of the sport, combined with contemporary trends, is seeing more tennis players in the spotlight than ever. The game is appearing in places it hasn’t been for generations. And though tennis boasts fewer stars in the U.S. than popular team sports, it is proving it doesn’t need quantity when it has a tremendous level of quality.

R E A D CO M M E N TA RY F R O M N I N A PA N T I C T H R O U G H O U T T H E S E A S O N AT T E N N I S .CO M

Nina Pantic

Harkening back to the halcyon ’70s, tennis has entered a new era of cool.

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In Box COURT of APPEALS WITH REBEL GOOD

In singles, I was serving and called the score 40–15. I always say the score loud enough so it can clearly be heard. I won the point and—I thought—the game, but then my opponent challenged the score. We agreed to replay from 30–all since neither of us could clearly recap the preceding points. Should it have been my game because she didn’t challenge the score immediately?

First, ask your opponent if she heard you announce the score. If she says she did, that score stands. If she says she didn’t, see what points you agree upon and replay only those you don’t (The Code, Item 32). In this case, by resuming at 30–all, you were conceding she was correct. You can state the score—and ask this opponent if she agrees with the score—before every point the next time you play. That will get old in a hurry.

—Jennifer Bogle, LaGrange, GA

10 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

FO R N E WS A N D F E AT U R E S O N YO U R G A M E A N D T H E P RO G A M E , G O TO T E N N I S.CO M

ILLUSTRATION BY WESLEY BEDROSIAN

To Stomp or Not to Stomp? In a doubles match, my teammate repeatedly made a fake move just as our opponent was striking the ball. Our opponent said she was distracted by the noise that his foot made. We found “stamping feet” to be illegal in the rules, but my teammate felt that this noise was inadvertent. Who was right? —Amelia Strasler, Louisville, KY The Code, Item 35, says that a player “may feint with the body while a ball is in play,” and adds that, “any other movement or any sound that is made solely to distract an opponent, including, but not limited to, waving arms or racquet or stamping feet, is not allowed.” So what does that really mean? An oﬃcial observing your partner’s fakes would consider whether the sound of her feet was commensurate with normal movement, in which case there would be no hindrance. However, if it was deemed that the foot-stamping was overly loud, the oﬃcial could conceivably conclude that it was done “solely to distract” and call an intentional hindrance, loss of point. Late Let In doubles, the receiver got his racquet on the ball but hit it way out. We all moved to our next positions except for the receiver’s partner, who asked if the serve was good. When we all said yes, he called a let, claiming that he didn’t say anything earlier because he thought the serve was out. Was

that OK, or should the recieiver have conceded the point? —Steve Blau, Clarksville, MD There’s nothing to concede: it’s simply your point. The receiver played the serve as good, and no call was made. The Code, Item 17, says all calls are to be made “promptly,” which means “either before the player’s return shot has gone out of play or before an opponent has had an opportunity to play the return shot.” Your opponents failed to do that. Battle of the Line Calls After a line-calling dispute, a non-active player from each team stood at the net posts to act as line judges. Later, one of the on-court players called a ball out, and the opponent asked the line judges for their calls. One said out, the other said in. The coach from the opposing team said the point should be replayed. I thought that since the line judges didn’t overturn the call, it should stand. Is that correct? —Alan Weissbaum, Moraga, CA In the absence of some prior, agreed-upon procedure for what happens if the two line judges disagree, the original call should stand. The common procedure for oﬃcials at most levels of the game is that if a call cannot be deﬁnitively overruled, it should stand. We don’t want to replay these kinds of points because it would open things up to multiple replays brought about by uncertain— or partisan—line judges.

Slippery Slope I was playing in the ad court in doubles and our opponent was serving into the deuce court. A hard, stray serve came straight at me, and I put my racquet up to protect myself. I ended up hitting the ball before it bounced. Our opponents played a second serve, but said if we were playing in a USTA match that it would be their point. Were they right? —Phil Howard, Sanibel, FL When your opponent’s serve struck your racquet, you lost the point. That it couldn’t possibly have gone into the correct service box is irrelevant. Rule 24, Case 7, states that unless it’s a let serve, a serve that strikes the receiver or receiver’s partner before hitting the ground is a point for the server. The intent of the server to nail you makes no diﬀerence. Duck! Except where noted, answers are based on the ITF Rules of Tennis and USTA’s The Code.

Got a question? Write us, email us . . . Mail it to: Tennis InBox 48 West 21st Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10010 Email it to: courtofappeals@tennis.com Rebel Good is a member of the USTA’s Tennis Rules & Regulations Committee. He has taught the rules to oﬀicials for more than 20 years.

In Box

The PRO SHOP

Answers to readers’ most frequently asked equipment questions BY JON LEVEY

RACQUETS

SHOES

DOWN A BREAK

HARD CHOICES

STRINGS

W I N N I N G C O M B I N AT I O N

WHEN IS IT TIME FOR A NEW RACQUET?

WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IF I PLAY ON HARD COURTS?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HYBRID STRINGING?

Some things in life are supposed to last forever—like diamonds and tattoos. But tennis racquets start to break down the moment you ﬁrst string them. This may come as a surprise, since racquets are constructed with some of the same materials that NASA builds shuttles with. But frames are not indestructible. Just because a racquet doesn’t show any visible damage doesn’t mean it isn’t cracking on the inside.

Fair bounces, assured footwork, easy maintenance— there’s a lot to like about playing on hard courts. One drawback, however, is that the constant pounding on the pavement can cause creaky knees, tender ankles or a throbbing lower back. As players age, this type of punishment often forces them to seek the more forgiving conﬁnes of softer surfaces.

The feel of natural gut or a soft, multiﬁlament nylon is incredible, but the shelf life of these strings is minimal. Polyesters provide much better durability, and their spin production and control are exceptional, but the strings are unforgiving and a nightmare on joints. If only there were a way to cherry-pick the best qualities from each type of string while lessening their limitations...

To lessen the physical toll of hard-court play, seek out shoes that possess plentiful cushioning, stability and support. A padded insole can be a real asset, and a sturdy outsole never hurts. Look for shoes that come with a sixmonth outsole guarantee—you’ll know it’s built to take a pounding.

Hello, hybrids. For the uninitiated, a hybrid is when two strings are combined into one string bed. One practice is to put a durable polyester string in the mains—the ones that go up and down—since they’re typically the ﬁrst to snap. Then use softer strings in the crosses to decrease the harshness that can be felt in a full bed of poly. It’s not quite the best of both worlds, but it’s a pretty close compromise. Reversing the pattern—soft strings in the mains, tough strings in the crosses— results in a more comfortable hybrid as the emphasis shifts to more forgiving strings.

Every time you strike a ball, your frame distorts backward to absorb the impact, then bends forward as it returns energy to the ball. Over time, this process damages the bond between the thousands of graphite fibers (the primary composite of racquets) and the resins that hold them together. Eventually, the frame loses stiffness and becomes “soft.” When that happens, you lose both power and control. Restringing puts more stress on the racquet head than a player can possibly impart by hitting the ball. During the course of stringing, a frame deforms, elongating and condensing before returning to its customary shape. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put in fresh strings to improve your play. Restringing a racquet is like washing and drying your favorite pair of jeans— it’s a necessary evil that eventually breaks down the structural integrity. Unfortunately, there’s no formula for determining how long your frame will last. Obviously, if you see visible cracking, it’s time for a replacement. But if your frame still looks the part, yet isn’t performing the way you remember, action could be required. First, restring it to see if playability improves. If that doesn’t impress you, demo a new model of your current racquet alongside your freshly strung Old Faithful. See if you can feel a difference. If the new frame plays better than the older one, it might be time for a change.

12 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

Padded models tend to weigh more than lightweight, speedoriented shoes, but just like more mass in a frame absorbs more shock at contact, heavier shoes with plentiful cushioning pass less of the impact to your feet. To maintain eﬀectiveness, it’s a good idea to keep your shoes fresh, as wear and tear can rob them of their supportive qualities. Still, if a player has a history of knee, hip or ankle problems, it may be necessary to get special orthopedic insoles, or sock liners with support and dampening zones.

With so many variations available, a player can go crazy searching for the right blend. It has prompted many string manufacturers to prepackage hybrids, making things easier for both the consumer and the stringer.

H AV E A N EQ U I P M E N T Q U E ST I O N ? E M A I L I T TO U S AT P RO S H O P @T E N N I S.CO M

FirstServe

ANew Doubles Partner Staying active during pregnancy— such as by hitting the court—can be beneﬁcial to a woman’s health BY NINA PANTIC

tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

Serena Williams caught the world oﬀ guard in April when she revealed that she was 20 weeks pregnant. Even more surprising was that it meant she won the Australian Open while roughly two months along. “I was nervous. I didn’t know what to think,” Williams said in an April TED Talk. “I just knew that at that moment, it was important for me to just focus right there. “I didn’t have time to deal with any extra emotions—any extra anything—because pregnant or not, no one knew, and I was supposed to win that tournament.”

G E T F I T N E S S A D V I C E F R O M P L A Y E R S A N D E X P E R T S A T B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M

SHUTTERSTOCK

FITNESS

When the news broke, Tennis Channel analyst Lindsay Davenport—a mother of four—explained how much respect everyone has for Williams playing, and winning, the Australian Open. “Being able to come through there not only physically, but also emotionally,” said Davenport, “is pretty remarkable.” There was a time when physicians discouraged pregnant women from exercising for fear it could be harmful. Today, doctors believe the opposite is true. “The important thing to realize is that a lot of women can definitely continue to exercise throughout their pregnancy,” says Dr. Alexis Colvin, the USTA’s Chief Medical Officer. “The main concern is if someone has never been active before, and then they want to begin.” Colvin says the general recommendation is exercising three times a week for at least 15 minutes, potentially increasing to four times a week for 30 minutes. “There are a lot of benefits in terms of continuing to exercise, which are physical as well as psychological,” says Colvin. “A lot of the things that make you uncomfortable during pregnancy, like being tired, varicose veins or swelling— can be lessened with regular exercise.” Working out regularly can also improve aerobic capacity, speed recovery time after delivery, improve blood pressure, lessen the risk of gestational diabetes and postpartum depression, and help women return to their prepregnancy weight sooner. Carling Bassett-Seguso, a former WTA No. 8, had three of her five children during her playing career. She was three months pregnant with her first child when she played the US Open in 1987. “When you’re physically fit, it’s not a big deal,” says Bassett-Seguso. “You don’t even feel it. I never stopped working out. I’m a big workout person anyway. Do what makes you happy.” There are no firm rules about when to stop playing while pregnant, but as you get into your third trimester, ease up— your center of gravity will be altered. Colvin still suggests exercising all the way up until the due date, as long as you’re feeling up to it. And when you’re not playing, be sure to get plenty of rest.

•

bas eline. tennis.c om

Exercise Tips Before playing, pregnant women should get clearance from their doctor. After that, there are a few important considerations.

1 / H Y D R AT E

At this year’s Aussie Open and Met Gala (above), Williams has been the center of attention.

n June, Williams surprised the world again by sharing a video of her practicing while she was approximately seven months along. It was about the same stage in which Gail Hanson (née Brodsky) competed in an ITF Pro Circuit tournament last year. “My morning sickness improved when I started being more active,” says Hanson. “Tennis was not something I thought of doing competitively while I was pregnant. But the old, competitive ﬁre shows up, and for a few moments I actually almost felt like an athlete again, instead of a human bowling ball.” The unique experience gave Hanson a new appreciation of the sport. “My pregnancies, deliveries—and in the end, my children—have given me a new reason and motivation to keep playing and teaching tennis,” she says. “It is truly the greatest sport for all walks of life, whether you are young, pregnant, elderly or anything in between.” As for Williams, playing was less about competition and more about comfort. “It would be amazing if I can play until my due date, but that’s not the goal,” Williams told TENNIS in July. “The goal for me is to just play and be healthy—and have a healthy pregnancy above all.”

It’s important to drink plenty of ﬂuids when you’re expecting, because dehydration can cause cramping, even in your uterus. “Both of my pregnancies were ending during hot summers,” says Joanna Pﬂuger, a coach in Virginia and former Division I player for Richmond University. “You’re sweaty and thirsty all the time while your bladder constantly feels full. Exercising with that sensation can be really challenging.”

2 / S TAY C O O L

Avoid playing in strong sun and during the hottest time of the day, especially during the ﬁrst trimester, when a developing fetus is vulnerable to heat. “A tip that my doctor told me was to make sure to put on sun block frequently because a pregnant woman’s skin is more sensitive to the sun,” Pﬂuger says. “That’s why I would avoid playing directly in the sun and look for a court that’s in the shade.”

3 / DRESS FOR COMFORT

Loose clothes and a well-ﬁtted sports bra can help you feel more comfortable on the court. Foot size can expand during pregnancy, so you may need to change your tennis shoes to get the right support. “You might start feeling back pain and hip pain, so I used a belly support band to help with that while playing,” Pﬂuger says, adding that she also needed to switch to bigger shoes. Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 15

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FirstServe

NUTRITION

Your ThreeCourse Fix

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This nutritious and delicious meal plan will fuel you for play, aid your recovery and satisfy your cravings

Nutrition Special

ents: ESPOON NUTRITIONAL YEAST ESPOONS PLUS 1 TEASPOON SUGAR ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR, PLUS MORE FOR DUSTING A WORK SURFACE ESPOONS FINE SALT

soggy or limp. Saddlebrook Resort chef Daniel Desmond’s recipe is convenient: you don’t need to bloom the yeast, employ super-high heat or bake it on a stone—all things that many naan (and pizza) recipes require. It’s a quick and healthy option, especially for parents whose children might be picky eaters but will rarely turn down a slice. 18 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

• 3 TABLESPOONS BAKING POWDER • 3 TABLESPOONS VEGETABLE OIL OR CANOLA OIL • ½ CUP PLAIN YOGURT (PARTIAL FAT OR NON FAT MAY BE USED) • ½ CUP MILK (PARTIAL FAT OR NON FAT MAY BE USED) • ½ CUP COLD WATER

Directions: 1. Put the yeast, sugar, flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment. Mix on the lowest setting to incorporate. Add the oil, yogurt, milk and water. Continue to mix until the dough comes together in a ball and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 1 to 2 minutes. 2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. 3. When ready to proceed, lightly flour your work surface. Divide the dough into

12 pieces and roll them out to 7-inch circles. 4. Heat a 10-inch or 12-inch nonstick, ovenproof pan over medium heat. Add 1 naan round and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side, just to set the dough. (It should barely turn golden.) Proceed to topping and serving (see below recipe), or let cool, stack, put in resealable plastic bags and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 1 month. (Let it come to room temperature before using.)

DINNER

OATMEAL-CRUSTED SALMON WITH SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS, KALE AND MARINATED TOMATOES SERVES: 4

Salmon is one of the healthiest proteins you can eat; it’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients. Here, Chef Desmond doubles down on that starting point by dredging salmon ﬁllets not in breadcrumbs, but rather in oatmeal, which crisps up in a sauté pan for a light and crunchy coating. The salmon is complemented by sautéed mushrooms, kale and marinated tomatoes—it’s a dish so juicy that no sauce is required.

B R E A K FA S T

BREAKFAST NAAN PIZZA MAKES: 12 six-inch pizzas

Naan can be served with any toppings, including those used in traditional pizzas. For a breakfast option, Chef Desmond opts for spinach with cheese and egg whites. Ingredients: • 1 TEASPOON OLIVE OIL • 12 OUNCES EGG WHITES (FROM ABOUT 12 LARGE EGGS) • 1 POUND SPINACH, TOUGH STEMS TRIMMED OR DISCARDED, STEAMED OR SAUTÉED • 6 OUNCES PARMESAN CHEESE, SHREDDED

Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 2. Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Beat the egg whites and add them to the pan. Cook, pulling the whites in from the edge of the pan with a spatula as they set up. When they are almost done, add the spinach.

pan. Then top with shredded parmesan and ﬁnish in the oven, baking until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes. If topping parcooked naan rounds, warm them brieﬂy in a 10-inch or 12-inch nonstick, ovenproof pan over medium heat. Top with the eggspinach mixture and bake until the cheese melts.

3. If topping freshly made naan, top the rounds with some of the egg whites and spinach as soon as you turn the naan over in the

4. If desired, use pepper jack cheese instead of parmesan. You can also top the breakfast naan with salsa or marinara sauce.

Ingredients: • 6 HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, QUARTERED • 1 WHOLE LIME, PEELED AND CUT INTO SEGMENTS • ½ CUP SLICED CILANTRO LEAVES • ¼ CUP APPLE CIDER VINEGAR • 2 TABLESPOONS HONEY • 1 CUP EGG WHITES (FROM ABOUT 8 LARGE EGGS) • 1 HEAPING CUP OATMEAL • 4 SIX-OUNCE SALMON FILLETS • KOSHER SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER • ¼ CUP PLUS 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL • 4 OUNCES DINOSAUR KALE (LACINATO KALE), THINLY SLICED • 4 OUNCES CREMINI MUSHROOMS, THINLY SLICED

F O R W E E K LY H E A LT H A N D N U T R I T I O N A D V I C E , G O T O B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 19

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NUTRITION

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bas eline. tennis. com

DINNER / CONTINUED

Directions: 1. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and add the juice of the lime segments, cilantro, vinegar and honey. Toss gently and let marinate at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. (The rest of the dish should take about that long to prepare and cook.) 2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 3. Put the egg whites in a wide, shallow bowl and spread the oats out on a plate. Working with 1 fillet at a time, season with salt and pepper, dip the salmon entirely in the egg whites— letting any excess run off back into the bowl—then roll the fillet in the oats, pressing down gently to ensure they adhere. 4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wide, deep, nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the salmon fillets to the pan without crowding and cook, turning fillets as they turn golden brown. Continue until golden brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook until warmed through, about 10 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining ¼ cup of oil in a wide, deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the kale and cook, stirring until wilted, about 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper. 6. When the salmon is done, set 1 fillet in the center of each of four dinner plates. Spoon some of the marinated tomatoes over and next to salmon on each plate, and mound some kale and mushrooms alongside the tomatoes. Serve.

DESSERT

POWER BISCOTTI MAKES: 10 to 12 biscotti

These biscotti were created to meet the demands of students and athletes for a healthy snack that could deliver clean carbs and a jolt of energy—with enough ﬂavor to be satisfying. If you like, dip half of each biscotti in melted chocolate and let dry on a baking rack. Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Put flour, sugar, oats, almonds, cranberries, wheat bran, flaxseed and baking powder in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Paddle on medium speed for a few seconds to incorporate, then add oil, almond extract, vanilla extract and eggs. Continue to paddle until mixture starts to come together, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a parchmentlined or Silpat-lined baking tray and shape into 2 mounds. Bake on the center rack of the oven until firm to the touch, but still a bit soft, about 18 minutes.

• 2 ½ CUPS WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR • 1 CUP SUGAR IN THE RAW • ¾ CUPS OATS • ½ CUP SLICED ALMONDS • ½ CUP DRIED CRANBERRIES • ½ CUP WHEAT BRAN • 2 TABLESPOONS GROUND FLAXSEED • 2 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER • 1 TABLESPOON VEGETABLE OR CANOLA OIL • 2 TEASPOONS ALMOND EXTRACT • 1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT • 4 LARGE EGGS

20 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

Directions:

3. Remove the tray from the oven, but don’t turn off the oven. 4. Let the mounds cool just until warm enough to handle. Cut off the ends and discard (or snack on) them. Slice the mounds crosswise into ¾-inch slices. Return to the baking tray and bake for 7 minutes on each side. Remove the tray from the oven and let the biscotti cool. Serve.

F O R W E E K LY H E A LT H A N D N U T R I T I O N A D V I C E , G O T O B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M

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and 2015.* That means while there is some risk of principal loss, investing in rated investment-grade municipal bonds can be an important part of your portfolio. Potential Regular Predictable Income Municipal bonds typically pay interest every six months unless they get called or default. That means that you can count on a regular, predictable income stream. Because most bonds have call options, which means you get your principal back before the maturity date, subsequent municipal bonds you purchase can earn more or less interest than the called bond. According to Moody’s 2016 research,* default rates are historically low for the rated investment-grade bonds favored by Hennion & Walsh. Potential Tax-Free Income Income from municipal bonds is not subject to federal income tax

and, depending on where you live, may also be exempt from state and local taxes. Tax-free can be a big attraction for many investors in this time of looming tax increases. About Hennion & Walsh Since 1990 Hennion & Walsh has specialized in investment-grade tax-free municipal bonds.The company supervises over $3 billion in assets in over 16,000 accounts, providing individual investors with institutional quality service and personal attention. Our FREE Gift To You We’re sure you’ll want to know more about the beneﬁts of tax-free Municipal Bonds. So our specialists have written a helpful Bond Guide for investors. It’s free and comes with no obligation whatsoever.

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Call (800) 319-4170 © 2017 Hennion and Walsh. Securities offered through Hennion & Walsh Inc. Member of FINRA, SIPC. Investing in bonds involves risk including possible loss of principal. Income may be subject to state, local or federal alternative minimum tax. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and when interest rates fall, bond prices rise. *Source: Moody’s Investor Service, May 31, 2016 “US Municipal Bond Defaults and Recoveries, 1970–2015. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

FirstServe

The Magic of Maui Turn your summer vacation into a wellness retreat on this laid-back Hawaiian isle B Y R E B E C C A WA L LWO R K

22 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

Hawaii has long been a vacation destination. Its impeccable weather and fetching vistas are part of its natural beauty and allure—but these Paciﬁc islands are more than about just looking good. Hawaii rewrites the traditional vacation as a healthy and active escape. Nowhere is that more evident than in Maui, which hosted a Fed Cup tie in February. The second largest of the Hawaiian islands is also one of the most visited, thanks to its world-renowned beaches and lush, mountainous terrain. Here’s how to make your Maui excursion guilt-free and fun—and to have you coming home revitalized.

L O O K I N G F O R T E N N I S V A C AT I O N I D E A S ? M A K E B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M Y O U R D E S T I N AT I O N

SHUTTERSTOCK (MAIN, 2—RIGHT, 3); ROYAL LAHAINA RESORT (1); MAUI TOURISM BOARD [HTA]/DANA EDMUNDS (2—LEFT)

T R AV E L

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Play Like a Pro There are many tennis courts on Maui, and you can even play where the U.S. Fed Cup team did at the Royal Lahaina Resort on Kaanapali Beach, home of the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch. The facilities include 10 courts, a 3,500-seat stadium, pro shop and training room.

3. Supercharge

ROYAL L AH AI NA R E S O R T

2. Go to the Source Clean eating is easy to subscribe to in Maui, where you can see exactly where your food comes from. The upland pastures of the island are home to cattle farms, fisheries and fresh fruit and vegetables that thrive in the volcanic soil. Farm tours give you the chance to see Maui’s agriculture at work. Consider a visit to O’o Farm, where you can pick a Maui onion, Ali’i Kuli Lavender or the Shim Coffee and Protea Farm. In the lower Kula area, you can visit the Surfing Goat Dairy and milk a goat—or just find out how their award-winning varieties of goat cheese are made.

If acai bowls and green juices are some of your go-tos, Maui is the place for you. Some of the local superfoods to sample include KonaRed (which contains coﬀee fruit, the berry which surrounds the bean), noni juice, breadfruit and kukui nut oil, which packs plenty of vitamins A, C and E. Sugarcane juice is one of the main ingredients in the concoctions at Farmacy Health Bar in Wailuku, where the menu includes smoothies made from Maui’s abundance of fresh fruits. There are also salads, sandwiches and the “pono bowl,” a blend of soup and quinoa topped with salad. Another indigenous delicacy is kombucha, which is on tap at many local spots, including Nourish Bar and Cafe and Maui Kombucha. Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 23

FirstServe

Hit the Surf

Maui has 120 miles of coastline—30 miles of which is home to some of the world’s best beaches. Choose from white, black or redsand beaches, calm coves ideal for swimming and snorkeling, or windswept coasts where the swell attracts diehard windsurfers, kiteboarders or big-wave riders. (For the latter, the beaches along Maui’s north shore are your best bet.) Stop by the small town of Paia to check out the “windsurﬁng capital of the world,” Ho’okipa Beach, or take a more leisurely dip at Baldwin Beach Park. Post-swim, leave time to wander the cute boutiques and bakeries that line Paia’s streets, and mingle with the locals over lunch at the popular Paia Fish Market. PA IA

One of Maui’s newest hotels, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, has a modern, residential feel, from its standard rooms and suites to its 10 private oceanfront villas. The resort is a great base for exploring nearby Haleakala National Park. And with the beach at your doorstep, a daily swim—or a more adventurous spin in an outrigger canoe, kayak or on a stand-up paddleboard—is always an option. To soothe tired muscles, the Awili Spa and Salon oﬀers an Omakase Blending Experience, based on the Japanese dining tradition of serving the chef ’s best selections. Essential oils and fresh Maui ingredients from the menu, including local herbs, fruit purees, plants and ﬂowers, are used to create a custom blend for your treatment.

ANDA Z MAU I AT WAI L E A R E S O R T

24 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

L O O K I N G F O R T E N N I S V A C AT I O N I D E A S ? M A K E B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M Y O U R D E S T I N AT I O N

HTA/TOR JOHNSON (4); ANDAZ MAUI AT WAILEA RESORT (5)

5. Rest and Rejuvenate

T R AV E L

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7. Enjoy the View Hiking is a great way to sightsee on Maui while also getting in your daily dose of cardio. If you drive the popular Road to Hana, make sure you stop to check out the trails and waterfalls. The three-mile Piilani Trail towards the end of the road takes you along the coastline for spectacular views of the Haleakala Volcano. And if you have time to drive into the Halekala National Park, watch the sun rise above Maui’s highest peak for one of the island’s most cherished and iconic experiences. HA NA

6. Step Back in Time

SHUTTERSTOCK (6); HTA/TOR JOHNSON (7); FOUR SEASONS RESORT MAUI (8)

HA LEAKAL A

One way to experience Hawaii’s rich history is to try sports that originated in the islands. That includes surfing and outrigger canoeing, but also lesserknown sports such as ulu maika—Hawaiian bowling. Early incarnations of the sport used slices of green breadfruit; today, you may see a tennis ball in place. Ulu Maika is offered as part of the children’s program at the newly renovated Four Seasons Maui at Wailea. Surf lessons are available for novices and those more experienced from many surfing professionals on Maui. No matter your skill level, you’ll enjoy the ride. At resorts, you’re also likely to find an opportunity for an outrigger canoe excursion.

8. Eat Smart Stick to a fresh, healthy diet at Four Seasons Maui at Wailea with the help of the resort’s in-house nutrition expert, Julie Nolan. She collaborates with chefs to tailor menus to guests’ special needs and desires. Guests can also work with the resort’s chef, spa director and on-staﬀ clinical nutritionist Dr. Mark Emerson to customize activities, meals and treatments for the course of their stay.

F O U R S E A S O N S M AU I AT WA I L E A

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 25

FEEL THE HEAT

MARY CARILLO BRETT HABER STEVE WEISSMAN JON WERTHEIM MARTINA NAVRATILOVA LINDSAY DAVENPORT TRACY AUSTIN JIM COURIER JUSTIN GIMELSTOB PAUL ANNACONE

2017 US OPEN AUG 28 - SEPT 10

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TOURNAMENTS

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t e nni s.c om /t ournam e nt s

TourGuide

An inside look at upcoming ATP and WTA tournaments

BNP PARIBAS WTA FINALS START DATE: SURFACE: 2016 CHAMPION:

Singapore, Singapore

OCTOBER 22 INDOOR HARD DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA

CATEGORY: SEASON-ENDING CHAMPIONSHIP We’re likely to see some new faces this fall at the WTA Finals, and not only because Australian Open champion Serena Williams won’t be taking part. By mid-July, Elina Svitolina, French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, Johanna Konta and Kristina Mladenovic were among the Top 8 in the Race to Singapore. Each one

of them would be making their WTA Finals debut. One participant we know for sure: Lindsay Davenport, who will serve as event ambassador. “It is going to be a lot of fun exploring the city, meeting the fans and soaking in the atmosphere of a tournament that I hold very close to my heart,” said the former No. 1 and WTA Finals champion.

I N 1 9 9 9 , D A V E N P O R T D E F E AT E D MARTINA HINGIS TO WIN THE S E A S O N - E N D I N G T I T L E I N N E W YO R K .

NITTO ATP FINALS START DATE: SURFACE: 2016 CHAMPION:

London, England NOVEMBER 12 INDOOR HARD ANDY MURRAY

CATEGORY: SEASON-ENDING CHAMPIONSHIP It all came down to the season’s final match last year, when Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic squared off in London to determine a champion—and to decide the No. 1 ranking. This winnertake-everything contest went the way of the Brit, who in doing so ended Djokovic’s four-year reign. It was a fitting place for Murray to cap his career-best season. BY ED McGROGAN

“Obviously I’m close to home and close to my family,” said Murray, “so that’s nice at the end of the year.” Rafael Nadal became the ﬁrst player to secure entry into this year’s roundrobin tournament, which boasts a new title sponsor. It will be the eighth time Nadal has played in the prestigious, eight-player event, but he’s never been able to win it.

N A D A L H A S F I N I S H E D R U N N E R - U P AT THE TOUR’S YEAR-END FINALE T WICE, IN 2010 AND 2013.

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 27

30 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

WHO WILL WIN, SURPRISE AND DISAPPOINT IN NYC? READ OUR PICKS ON TENNIS.COM

US Open Special Among the thousands of carefully chosen words David Foster Wallace wrote in this magazine 21 years ago, in his unique review of the US Open, six stand out, and not only because they begin one of his densely-packed paragraphs in bold type: “It is not at all quiet...”

The bustle that deﬁnes the season’s ﬁnal Grand Slam tournament has yet to wane. Rather, it has grown as much as the Open itself. Since Wallace’s essay was published, a 23,000-seat stadium has been built at Flushing Meadows— along with a roof, two decades later, to shield those seatholders from late-summer showers and, according to the author, “bludgeoning sun.” The show courts Wallace described, Louis Armstrong Stadium and Grandstand, have been torn down. Change happens fast in New York. The US Open is about speed. The fans—“an enormous serpentine mass”—hustle to catch glimpses of their favorite pros. The players must hit with power to win on the hard courts, while still being versatile. The media must sum it all up in the fastest and most effective way possible. As the late and great Wallace put it, the US Open is “democracy and commerce.” But more than anything, it is a symbol of the modern game: an ever-changing celebration of our sport. This year, the celebration will continue. Let it be loud.

F O L L O W T H I S Y E A R ’ S U S O P E N F R O M F I R S T R O U N D T O F I N A L S A T B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 31

THE TENNIS CONVERSATION: US Open

Throughout 2017, we’ve discussed the themes of each issue with three former players and current tennis commentators: Jimmy Arias, James Blake and Mary Carillo. To conclude our series, we turn their attention to the season’s final Grand Slam tournament, in Flushing Meadows, to explore why it’s different than all of the other majors.

Interviews by A N D R E W F R I E D M A N

JIMMY ARIAS

JAMES BLAKE

MARY CARILLO

Reached US Open semiﬁnals at 19; won ﬁve ATP tournaments

Member of 2007 Davis Cup championship team; ascended to No. 4 in rankings

Won French Open mixed doubles title; Emmy-winning correspondent

( S A R A S OTA , F L )

(SAN DIEGO, CA)

( N E W YO R K , N Y )

(The interviews, edited together, were conducted separately.)

32 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

WHO WILL WIN, SURPRISE AND DISAPPOINT IN NYC? READ OUR PICKS ON TENNIS.COM

US OPEN issue

QUESTION 1

WHAT DOES THE US OPEN MEAN TO YOU? Mary Carillo: I grew up in Douglaston, about 25 minutes away from Forest Hills, where the US Open used to be held. A bunch of kids from my town, including John and Patrick McEnroe, were ball kids at the tournament. It looked like a pretty cool thing to do. And then, in 1971, I watched Chris Evert reach the US Open semiﬁnals at 16. It was sort of a life-changing event. All of a sudden I was thinking, “You know what? I don’t want to be a ball kid.” I had no idea that a teenager could be great until I watched Evert play that year. It didn’t even occur to me that a girl could compete with women. That kind of changed everything for me.

James Blake: The Agassi match. [In the 2005 US Open quarterfinals, Agassi completed a comeback from two sets down by defeating Blake in a fifth-set tiebreaker at 1:15 a.m. in Arthur Ashe Stadium.] The hype that came into it, the tension, the drama, the tiebreaker, everyone’s still there after midnight, what it meant for U.S. tennis—it was unforgettable. That was definitely my most memorable moment. Jimmy Arias: The US Open was the tournament I wanted to do well in more than any other. I went to watch the US Open as a kid, and saw it the last year it was held at Forest Hills, in 1977. It was on clay, and I watched Jimmy Connors play Corrado Barazzutti.

At one point, Connors hit a ball that was out, and the linesman called it in. Barazzutti circled the mark so the umpire could check it—but then, Connors ran across the net and erased it with his feet. I was sort of incensed, even though I was a Connors fan. And all Barazzutti did was stand there with his shoulders shrugging. I saw Barazzutti at the Open decades later and asked him, “Why you didn’t make an argument, or say that you needed the referee?” Then I realized why he didn’t. “I was so shock-a-da,” Barazzutti replied. He couldn’t speak a word of English. There’s no way he could have made an argument unless the referee happened to speak Italian.

2 / WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR FIRST US OPEN? James Blake: In 1999, I ended up getting demolished by fellow American Chris Woodruﬀ, 6–2, 6–2, 6–1. Woodruﬀ was ranked as high as No. 29 in the world—he was rock solid, a great player. I like Chris a lot, but he beat me badly that day. And I had really no chance of getting into any of the sets. More importantly, it was a wake-up call for me of how far away I was from being where I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to be back in the US Open, especially after that performance. I had received a wild card that year, but I wanted to prove that I belonged there. I wanted to

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 33

actually win a round. When I did, two years later against David Sanchez, I remember being on cloud nine walking in the locker room. I had won a match at the US Open, and no one could take that away from me. It was something I always dreamed of. I remember that was the moment when I felt like I really belonged on tour. Jimmy Arias: It wasn’t my ﬁrst Open, but I’ll never forget what happened in 1982. I had just turned 18, and here I was playing Jimmy Connors in the third round, in a night match inside a jam-packed Louis Armstrong Stadium. And everyone loved Connors in New York. In those days they didn’t introduce you one at a time when you walked onto the court to lights, cameras and music. You just walked on the court when it was time to go play. So Connors and I walk on the court and the crowd starts screaming, “Come on, Jimmy! Come on, Jimmy!” I was smart enough to know that those chants weren’t for me—but because I’m also a smart ass, I couldn’t help myself. So as I’m walking behind Connors, I’m waving to the crowd saying, “Okay! I’ll try!” And the crowd actually started yelling back to me, “Not you!” I thought that was fantastic.

34 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

QUESTION 3

THE US OPEN HAS A REPUTATION OF BEING A LITTLE UNRULY, FOR BETTER OR WORSE. IS IT AS CRAZY AS IT’S MADE OUT TO BE, AND DOES THE ATMOSPHERE AFFECT THE PLAYERS? Mary Carillo: Nothing is like the US Open. Of the four majors, that one is the toughest for a player to navigate. It’s not easy to get to, and on days when there’s a Mets baseball game going on next door, there’s even more traﬃc and it’s harder to park. Most players stay in Manhattan during the Open, but most of them want to practice at Flushing Meadows. In that way, it’s difﬁcult for players to get relaxed, even with modern comforts. It’s just hard to get comfortable in these

unique surroundings. You’re up against New York City traﬃc, bustle and constant honking—there’s nothing chill about the Open for the players. James Blake: I think it’s calmed down a bit from its heyday because people have become more isolated. Players have their teams—their trainer, coach, agent— so they can stay inside their bubbles. And also, thanks to former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, planes going in and out of LaGuardia Airport don’t ﬂy over the

grounds during the tournament anymore. The site is so big now. It used to be a little smaller where you could almost smell the hamburgers and hot dogs grilling while you’re playing in the Grandstand. It’s gotten a little bit more commercial, so you can’t feel that as much as you could maybe 15, 20 years ago. But the night matches are still crazy. The crowd deﬁnitely gets into it more than any of the other Slams. I think the craziness is just New York City, period, and after

WHO WILL WIN, SURPRISE AND DISAPPOINT IN NYC? READ OUR PICKS ON TENNIS.COM

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they’ve played there a few times, I think players get used to it more and more. I love New Yorkers. I love how excited they get. I love how diﬀerent the US Open is from the other Slams. But it’s not as tough, I don’t think, for a foreign player or newcomer as it used to be. Mary Carillo: The fans used to love the “ring walks,” like when Connors and his opponent would have to walk from their locker rooms and make their way over to Louis Armstrong Stadium in the ’70s. That was an event. Today, the practice courts at Flushing Meadows are just a couple of steps outside the lockerroom area inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, so players don’t really have to consort with the fans, which is a pity. They are much more protected than they used to be, which is both good and bad.

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Jimmy Arias: When I was playing they still had planes ﬂying overhead while the tournament was going on. It was a strange feeling: you’d be playing a point and suddenly you couldn’t hear the ball anymore. One year I remember playing on Court 3 and there was a food stand nearby. Someone was cooking up a storm, and before I knew it, half of the court was smoked out. It was a bit of a zoo at that time, especially compared to the pristine grounds and more reserved crowds at Wimbledon. But I think that’s all changed. Yes, the US Open is still a bit of a zoo because it takes place in New York City. There is a lot of action and a lot of entertainment, and because of that it’s become more than just a tennis tournament. It’s now an event. And they just happen to be playing tennis matches there.

4 / YOU HAVE TO BE QUICK ON COURT AT THE US OPEN. WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO A PLAYER’S SPEED? Jimmy Arias: What I see more than anything else, even at really high levels of the game, is players hitting the ball and not recognizing what their shot has done to their opponent. However your shot affects your opponent, there’s an optimal place to go to before they’ve hit it back. The pros sort of know that instinctually. They see how effective their shot is and know where they have to go to next—that is the definition of court sense. James Blake: I never thought of myself as being all that fast, but I do think of myself as very quick on the court. I have an older brother, Thomas, who also played professional tennis. Anyone watching both our games would say I moved a lot better than him, and that I got to more balls.

We used to work out together and he killed me on the track—I rarely ever won a sprint against him. Thomas was a better runner, but there’s so much more to being quick on the court than speed. There’s court sense. I don’t know if Novak Djokovic would be the fastest guy in a 100-meter dash, but he moves so well and his balance is incredible. The way you stop and turn, your ﬁrst step, your ability to change direction—all of that goes into quickness and being able to move on the court. If you look at straight point-topoint speed, Gael Monﬁls is on another level, but I don’t know if his footwork is as good as Lleyton Hewitt, who moved so well on the court. Court sense is such a big factor. Some of it can be taught; some of it is natural.

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john newcombe tennis ranch 325 Mission Valley Road New Braunfels, TX 78132 830.625.9105 newktennis.com 26 Grand Slam Titles

US OPEN issue

tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

F O L LO W T H I S Y E A R â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S U S O P E N F R O M F I R S T R O U N D T O F I N A L S AT T E N N I S . C O M

HOLDING COURT

A US Open emcee takes us inside the most intimate— and potentially terrifying— job in all of tennis

DINO GARCIA

BY BLAIR HENLEY

If you’ve ever been sent to a far-flung court, it was probably to play a match in the consolation bracket of a USTA tournament at your local park. For me, however, that court assignment—specifically, to Court 17—was the highlight of my career. I had been working in various segments of the tennis media for nearly a decade, writing and producing news videos in relative obscurity. Two years ago, that all changed when I took to the US Open’s fourth-largest court as an emcee. In front of 2,500 fans and a worldwide viewing audience, I was tasked to warm up the crowd and conduct live post-match interviews with players—all without any prior experience. I would be learning this job on the fly at one of tennis’ showcase events. No pressure, I told myself. It was a bit uncomfortable at first. Nestled in the southeast corner of the grounds, Court 17 has no designated indoor area to take refuge on hot

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tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

their personalities with an easy delivery and creative questions. The Australian Open’s Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Smith always seem to make players feel like they are having a chat over coffee. In 2011, the Melbourne crowd roared when Li Na told Smith that she didn’t sleep well the night before her semifinal match because of her husband’s snoring. At this year’s Australian Open, Smith elicited one of the quotes of the tournament when she asked Venus Williams how she competes against players almost half her age. “Well, I know how to play tennis, Sam,” the 36-year-old responded, with good-natured sass. I learned quickly that if you want a player to give you a great answer, you have to take some risks with your questions. Jim Courier was a shining example at this year’s Australian Open, when he asked Rafael Nadal to comment about the fact that his longtime girlfriend, Xisca Perello, was joining him at the tournament for the first time. Notoriously private, Nadal turned

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NICHOLAS LEONE (SAFIN); ANDREW PATRON / CAMERASPORT (RAONIC, DEL POTRO); ANDRZEJ KENTLA (RADWANSKA)

here is nothing quite like the rush of being the first person to talk to an athlete after a big win. The crowd is buzzing, the mood is light and the player is generally all smiles—it’s a much different atmosphere than inside a formal pressroom. Even then, getting those initial remarks about what just happened is a responsibility to be taken seriously. Everyone who has just seen the match likely has a question or two they’d like to ask; I am, in essence, entrusted to do so on their behalf. In addition, one funny or endearing answer from the player can create a fan for a lifetime, and I consider it my job to facilitate that. When a post-match interview is done well, it is something the fans anticipate, rather than endure, as they wait for the player to hit autographed tennis balls into the stands. When done poorly, it can come off as disingenuous, cheesy or cringe-worthy. Some interviewers clearly have a rapport with the athletes, bringing out

summer days. There is no court producer to direct start times or coordinate TV cameras. In fact, the emcee of Court 17 also serves as its DJ. With my lengthy job description, I left my courtside seat solely for bathroom breaks. But I didn’t mind being glued to my post—even though, like the players I talked to after a grueling match, I smelled like a mixture of sweat and sunscreen. I found that it was easy to settle into a groove, and I loved the unique access. Some of the best advice came from longtime tennis emcee, Andrew Krasny, who told me to make fans feel at home, like they had just entered the best tennis venue in the world. Hanging out on the court and chatting with fans in between matches— even if some of them thought I was an usher (“Do you know where these seats are?) or a psychic (“Do you know when the courts will be dry?”)—made it easier to take ownership of my environment. It also allowed me to watch matches up close and carefully, which is the key in crafting a sharp post-match interview.

“I learned quickly that if you want a player to give you a great answer, you have to take some risks with your questions.” Paying attention is a prerequisite to a strong post-match interview. It might sound logical, but some emcees ask standard questions no matter what—and some don’t watch the match at all.

Coke-can red and responded by saying she got a 2017 “wild card.” Embarrassing or not for Nadal, the fans loved it. Sometimes, no matter how creative you try to get, the interview will end up being a cliché-athon. You’ve heard them all: “I like to take things one match a time.” “I’m just glad to get a win today.” “I couldn’t have done it without the fans.” But other times, you’ll receieve a great answer. After a particularly grueling win on Court 17, I asked a sweaty Jo-Wilfried Tsonga what his post-match recovery would look like. “Kisses from my girlfriend,” the Frenchman said, without missing a beat. One of my favorite quotes came from Juan Martin del Potro, at the 2016 Delray Beach Open. I was the first person to speak to the fan favorite after his nearly two-year injury layoff. My final question was a standard one: “Next up you face Australian J.P. Smith. What are your thoughts on that matchup?” “I do not know him,” del Potro replied. “I’ve been home watching The Simpsons for the last two years.”

rom the players’ perspective, having their bios read during the warm-up and answering post-match questions are all part of the pro-tour drill. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t paying attention, either. I’ve been corrected by players on things as minor as the pronunciation of a hometown. (Rajeev Ram is from CAR-mel, Indiana, not car-MEL.) Then there’s the pronunciation of players’ names. I’ll never forget announcing Henri Kontinen’s name as the Finn walked onto Court 17. I was sure his name was pronounced the French way, on-REE. I was wrong. He walked past me, looked me right in the eye, and said, “It’s HEN-ree.” Lesson learned. One year at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, I went to verify the pronunciation of Canadian Frank Dancevic. After asking tournament staff, ATP staff and another player, I had three different answers. I finally went ahead and asked the man himself. (It’s DANCH-e-vich.) No one I asked had it right.

Reading players’ accomplishments and correctly pronouncing their names are technical aspects of the emcee job. The rest is a matter of feel: gauging a player’s mood, discerning the best way to showcase their personality, and boosting crowd energy. As a former college tennis player and the daughter of a teaching pro, I feel fortunate that I get to enhance the fan experience in a sport that has inﬂuenced my life since I could walk. I’ve seen a falling on-court clock nearly crush Gael Monﬁls, Max Mirnyi hit a between-the-legs volley and Grigor Dimitrov kiss his legs after a win. Those moments made for some fun interviews. I’ll be returning to the US Open as an emcee with plenty of experience at my disposal. Trophy ceremonies? No problem. DJ skills? I’ve got them. (Sort of.) Mid-match fan promotions? I’m your girl. But, sorry, I have no idea where Section C, Row 10, Seat 6 is located. And if you see me on your court with a microphone in my hand, you can be assured you just walked into the best tennis venue in the world.

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HEART OF THE CITY

Roger Federer’s connection to New York is unmistakable, both on and off the court

FASHIONABLY GREAT

first met Roger Feder r over lunch in the summer of 2005. He was in town to win the US Open—his second in a five-year streak—and a mutual friend had arranged for us to meet at Keith McNally’s restaurant Pastis knowing that I was a fan. But “fan” is quite an understatement. I have flown across the world for his tournaments; I’ve endured agony when he’s been a set down and ecstasy when he’s stormed back; I have even missed more than the occasional fashion show—all for the privilege of witnessing Roger play what is surely the greatest tennis of all time. And it’s no secret that he’s appeared in Vogue about as often as Karlie Kloss. Everyone calls themselves Roger Federer fans. I consider myself a groupie. Of course, all I want to ever discuss with Roger is tennis: his tennis, other players, the next Slam. But he wants to talk more about fashion. The truth is that Roger mostly wins that battle—he’s used to winning—and I’ve spent nearly as much time with him at runway shows as I have sitting in his box at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Over the years, he’s been my guest at Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Versace and Alexander McQueen. A decade ago, he and Mirka memorably joined me at Oscar de la Renta’s show on the Monday morning after Roger won his fourth US Open; the entire room, which is to say the entire fashion world, gave him a standing ovation. Those who know me will attest that my great passion, other than Roger’s backhand, is the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute. And for nearly as long as I’ve been chairing the Costume Institute’s annual fundraising gala, I have been inviting Roger and Mirka, who have always turned me down—our fault for scheduling an event in the middle of the clay-court season. So when Roger and Mirka accepted my invitation for the first time this year, I didn’t let the opportunity go to waste. We immediately connected Roger with Alessandro Michele, the Gucci designer, who devised a black-tie look that was traditional in the front, but emblazoned with a massive, glittering crystal cobra on its back. And that night, Roger was by far the best dressed. Nineteen Grand Slams, one Met Gala, and counting. Anna Wintour is the editor-in-chief of Vogue.

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TAYLOR JEWELL FOR VOGUE MAGAZINE

by Anna W Wintou

US OPEN issue

2004

EXPRESS TO SUCCESS

Then a fresh-faced 23-year-old, Federer won the US Open for the ﬁrst time in 2004. Like his sustained reign atop the ATP rankings, the Swiss wouldn’t relinquish his crown for years—it wasn’t until the 2009 ﬁnal that he would lose another match at Flushing Meadows. By then, Federer had won as many US Open trophies as there are New York City boroughs.

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OPEN FOR DISCUSSION

Competition Conﬁdant Annacone traveled the globe with Federer for parts of four seasons, getting an up-close look at some extraordinary highs and painful lows.

by Ed McGrogan

An inside look at Team Federer in Queens, Manhattan and beyond with Roger’s former coach, Paul Annacone

These achievements were but part of a wide-ranging conversation with Annacone about one the game’s most beloved players; why Federer treats the US Open diﬀerently than any other Grand Slam tournament; the matches he remembers most while in the superstar’s corner; and what the 36-year-old must do in Flushing Meadows this summer to win his ﬁrst title there since 2008.

Federer is a fan favorite everywhere he plays, but the bond between him and New York City appears especially strong. What is it about this particular connection between person and place? One of Roger’s strengths as a global icon is that he always keeps things in perspective. But he also grows relationships with individual places. I think he loves going to New York and loves all that New York has to oﬀer, both culturally and for his family. It’s a good thing for him because he really is a citizen of the world. The second part is the personality of the US Open. He enjoys the fact that the tournament is so vibrant, and the fact that people—both players and fans—really thrive being out there. When you’ve had as much success as he’s had, it’s a pretty unique combination of things that makes him really have a strong aﬃnity for being in New York.

Was this type of schedule a challenge for you, as someone who has coached many different kinds of players, including Tim Henman and Pete Sampras? First and foremost, Roger’s oﬀ days were about doing whatever he needed to do for his tennis. Some players get so preoccupied with it that they become borderline AP

or a substantial part of his professional career, Roger Federer played without a formal coach. It speaks to the Swiss’ self-sufficiency and confidence—and to the acumen of the minds who have earned a seat in Federer’s exclusive player box. Paul Annacone is one of the chosen few who has been a part of this inner sanctum, having coached Federer from July 2010 through October 2013. Under Annacone’s tutelage, Federer won his 17th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, in 2012, and reached two US Open semifinals.

What was a typical day like for you during the US Open when you were coaching Federer? He isn’t a creature of habit. There were times where he’d have a day off and would want to get up early and go hit, and there were other times where he’d take the morning off and sleep in, or get his head away from tennis and decompress—go to the museum with Mirka, or take the kids out for a walk—and we’d hit at 5 o’clock. He doesn’t waste a ton of energy on stuff that is inconsequential, as long as what needs to get done gets done. In many regards, I think that fits well with New York City.

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W H AT â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S T H E S W I S S S TA R U P T O O F F O F T H E C O U R T ? F I N D O U T AT B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M

tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017 47

obsessive compulsive, becoming overwrought with sticking to a routine. Roger’s not really like that, and I think that’s a key to his longevity. He’s learned how to manage the environment so well that he makes it suit his needs. It actually becomes a catalyst, rather than something debilitating.

You joined Federer just before the 2010 US Open, in which he lost a semifinal to Novak Djokovic in a fifth set after holding two match points. The same thing, against the same opponent, in the same round, happened in 2011. What do you remember about those matches? I just remember the match points, and I remember feeling pretty disappointed for Roger that they ended like they did. That’s the nature of best-of-five-set matches. You work so hard for so long, and then all of a sudden something like that happens, and it seems pretty shocking. When it happened the second year, that made it even more like, ‘Did that just happen again?’ It’s hard to imagine. I try to stay as process-oriented about everything as I can. I look back and those two matches and think, did Roger do anything glaringly wrong? Not really. On one match point, Novak hit a slapshot forehand return, which was a semi-tank shot that just happened to be a struck for screaming winner. On another, Roger had an inside-out forehand, and it hit the top of the net and it came back. And as long as the process is right, I can live with the results. It doesn’t mean these losses didn’t hurt, but the process maximized what Roger was supposed to do to give him

48 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

So Close, So Far Djokovic denied Federer trips to the 2010 and 2011 US Open ﬁnals by saving four match points over the course of two ﬁve-set classics.

the best chance to succeed. Were they disappointments? Yes. But the process was right, so I feel good about that. At the 2013 US Open, your last Open coaching Federer, Roger lost in the fourth round to Tommy Robredo. Federer had beaten Robredo in each of their 10 previous matches. It was an unusual day for many reasons, including the match venue, Louis Armstrong Stadium. That whole year was kind of a mess. Roger doesn’t talk about it because he doesn’t like to complain, but he had a lot of back issues all year. I know he was really frustrated by it, but he kept trying to play. That’s one of his strengths: he doesn’t let you know that there’s an issue unless you’re inside his inner sanctum. That match in particular, he played a guy who is a great competitor on a heavy, slow, muggy day. It was difficult to hit the ball through the court, and Tommy Robredo was, well, Tommy Robredo. He makes you hit extra balls; he dictates with his forehand; he finds ways to maximize what he does well. He did it terrifically that day, and Roger didn’t play great. That’s just the way it is. I don’t remember Roger coming off and being absolutely apoplectic. I think he has great perspective about being pragmatic when things are good or bad. That’s probably why, at 36, he’s still able to play like he plays.

F O L LOW R O G E R F E D E R E R A S H E M A K E S H I S WAY T O F L U S H I N G M E A D OW S AT T E N N I S . C O M

W AT O N E L A S N TICKETS O RG

O . N E P O S U

#USOPEN

AUGUST 28 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SEPTEMBER 10

The Early Days After earning memorable wins of his own as a player (left), Annacone experienced greater success at the Open while coaching Sampras and Federer.

Some other great moments were Sampras’ match with Alex Corretja, at the 1996 Open, when Pete got sick on the court and still won. A year earlier, when Pete beat Andre Agassi in the final, that was a pretty huge win, too. Andre hadn’t lost for the entire summer. And of course, when Pete beat Andre in the 2002 final for his last major title. It was probably the best accomplishment I’ve ever seen, for Pete to come back and play at that level for two weeks. I believe he played the last five matches in seven days. What do you see as the biggest challenge for Federer at this year’s US Open? Playing seven best-of-five set matches on hard courts after Wimbledon and the long summer. If he’s playing a full schedule from Wimbledon through the US Open, that’s a lot of tennis for a 36-year-old. He still has to be smart.

Although you never won a title with Federer at Flushing Meadows, you did experience other levels of success there. My best memory, selﬁshly, was when I beat John McEnroe on Louis Armstrong Stadium in 1986. I also lost in the doubles ﬁnal there in 1990. That was kind of an eerie moment because I was playing at 11 in the morning with practically no one watching in the stadium. It was very surreal, because it was so anticlimactic—like a non-event.

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Paul Annacone’s autobiographical journey, Coaching for Life, is available for purchase on Amazon.com, BN.com, paulannacone.com and from the publisher, Irie Books (iriebooks.com). In his own words, Annacone describes his life as a player, coach and friend of many who love and work in the ﬁeld of tennis. Annacone, who joined Stan Wawrinka’s coaching team during the 2017 grass season, can be seen on Tennis Channel as a studio analyst.

F O L LOW R O G E R F E D E R E R A S H E M A K E S H I S WAY T O F L U S H I N G M E A D OW S AT T E N N I S . C O M

Let’s move on to some more positive memories. What are some of your lasting impressions of the US Open while in Federer’s corner? All of Roger’s US Open matches were so interesting when they were at night. Every match was so loud and people were so into them. All the stars came out. They were such events, true New York City happenings. Part of that is owed to the explosion of social media. I feel like night tennis transcends sport. It’s always been like that at the Open, but it’s been magniﬁed in the last decade.

Considering what he’s achieved this season, do you feel Roger has raised his expectations for the Open? I really don’t, and I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s so great. Most people set expectations, and in doing so they set themselves up for failure. They put the ever-dreaded “whatif” quotes into their minds. I’ve never been around someone that makes those doubts more invisible than Roger. Sure, those “what-ifs” seem to creep in during tournaments, but because of Roger’s pragmatic personality, I think he manages it well. He has a great sense for what he’s accomplished. He really embraces being out there and playing. If he wins more, that’s great, but if he doesn’t, because of his sense of self and security, he isn’t going to lose much sleep over it. A lot of people would say that to take pressure oﬀ themselves, but I think Roger actually believes it. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to try his ass oﬀ, because he will. He’s going to compete like crazy.

“AN AWESOME MIX OF VIDEO, ANALYTICS AND FUN FEATURES” Ana Ivanovic Former WTA #1 Ranked Singles French Open Champion

CONNECTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ATHLETES

2007

LOOK GOOD, PLAY GOOD

Style has always been a careful consideration for Federer. The fashion-forward star is under the spotlight wherever he plays, nowhere more so than inside gargantuan Arthur Ashe Stadium. In 2007, he wore an all-black outﬁt—replete with tuxedo-lined shorts—for his late-afternoon and night matches. “In New York can you do such a thing,” said Federer. “Nowhere else in the world.”

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TALK OF THE TOWN

by Stephen Tignor

New Yorkers speak to what makes this Swiss superstar one of their own

“You could really see how powerful his movement is,” Cooper says, “and how much wrist he uses in his shots.” Even better, Federer was winning. He held two match points against the man who had beaten him in the same round the previous year, Novak Djokovic. “I was happy he was getting his revenge,” Cooper says. Then he heard a sound he didn’t like. “When Djokovic hit that crazy return at 40–15, I was like, ‘What was that?’” says Cooper of the Serb’s now-famous cannon-return winner. “It was an ‘Oh God’ moment.” Cooper was right to have a sinking feeling. Federer lost the last four games to Djokovic and left him shaking his head at what he’d just seen. “But the thing that’s always amazed me,” Cooper says, “is how he shrugs oﬀ losses. That was one of the toughest, but by the next summer, he was winning Wimbledon.”

was in the second row, and I felt really fortunate to be there,” Rob Cooper says. “I felt like this was the best tennis I’d ever seen in my life. Then, in three shots, it all went to hell.” Cooper had been a fan of Roger Federer’s since the late-1990s, when he’d caught a glimpse of the Swiss teen’s elegant strokes, and occasional shanks, while watching a small tournament on TV. “Everyone was slugging two-handed backhands then,” says Cooper, a three-times-a-week, 5.0 player who lives in Brooklyn, “and here’s this guy hitting these really pretty one-handed backhands. He missed a lot of them, too, but I thought, ‘If this guy ever gets it together...’ ” Now it was the semiﬁnals of the 2011 US Open, and Federer seemed to have it all together as Cooper watched him from up close. It was a new perspective for him, one that revealed the physicality beneath Federer’s smooth veneer.

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SHUTTERSTOCK

aroline Potter was in Arthur Ashe Stadium when Federer won the 2007 US Open final over Djokovic, and she was there again— “squirming in my seat”—two years later when he lost the final to Juan Martin del Potro. One of her most memorable experiences was watching him in the intimately unruly confines of Louis Armstrong Stadium, when Federer was exiled there after a rain delay in 2013. “It was bedlam,” Potter says, “like one of those old matches you see at Forest Hills where people are sitting in the aisles, and it’s a total fire hazard.” Sometimes when she’s watching Federer live, though, Potter secretly wishes she was somewhere else. “When it’s close,” she says, “I kind of want to be at home, making myself a martini and pacing the floors.” That’s how Potter, who works at Open Table in Manhattan and lives with her husband in Huntington Station, NY, remembers Federer’s glory years of the mid-2000s. “Every Sunday,” she says, “there would be five or six of us pacing around one of our apartments getting really excited for a Federer final.” Federer’s dominance came as a happy surprise to Potter, who had originally been drawn to what she saw as his darkhorse status and long-shot style of play. “I liked to root for the underdog,” she says, “and I liked that he beat [Mark] Philippoussis at Wimbledon [in 2003]. I thought tennis was boring then, all about the serve. And then here’s a guy who’s making it artful again.” She also liked the joy that Federer brought to the game. “He’s all-business on the court,” Potter says, “but off the court he’s kind of a goofball, and really guileless. There’s so much joy in him. “I’ll always remember the 2008 Olympic Games, when he won doubles gold medal with Stan [Wawrinka], and how overjoyed they were.” As the veteran Federer has gone back to being something

owland Stebbins likes to think that his daughter, Cameron, came into this world at an auspicious moment. “She was born January 19, 2017,” says Stebbins, a New York musician, squash instructor and lifelong tennis player. “By the time she’d been alive for five days, she’d already seen three Roger Federer victories.” For Stebbins, the Australian Open offered a chance for some very early quality time with Cameron. “I volunteered for the 3:00 a.m. shift with her,” he jokes, “which just happened to be when Roger was starting all of his matches in Melbourne.” It was a heady confluence of events for Stebbins, who has been a Federer fan since he first saw him dismantle Andre Agassi over a decade ago. “I remember Agassi saying, ‘This guy doesn’t have a weakness,’” Stebbins says. “Coming from Andre, that really made me want to see more of him.” He quickly found out that “doesn’t have a weakness” didn’t do justice to what Federer was all about. “He hit shots where I said, ‘Oh, you really can do that,” Stebbins says. “He played the way I wanted the game to be played. You could look at him and say, ‘He’s doing it right.’” Over the years, that initial impression has been confirmed and magnified. “I saw him avenge a loss to [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga at the US Open,” Stebbins says of Federer’s straight-sets victory in the 2011 quarterfinals, “and all the qualities that I liked about

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“He played the way I wanted the game to be played. You could look at him and say, ‘He’s doing it right.’ ” him on television were even more pronounced in person. You could really appreciate his precision from up close.” Yet when it came time for him to take over the wee-hour shift before the Australian Open final, Stebbins knew that precision alone wouldn’t be enough against Nadal. He and his daughter had seen Federer win two five-setters, but when he went down a break to Nadal in the fifth set, it was hard to believe the 35-year-old had one more miracle in him. “It was like, ‘here we go again’ with Nadal,” Stebbins says. “The fifth set was just too stressful. I finally had to pour myself a scotch to get through it. My wife walks in and sees me with my daughter, with the glass in my hand. She gives me a look, like, ‘Do we have a problem I should know about?’” “No problem,” Stebbins said, feeling no pain. “Federer’s going to win.”

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of an underdog, Potter has been happy to discover another, steelier part of his personality. “He fights now, when maybe he wouldn’t in the past,” she says. “Before this year, I wondered if he was going to hang it up. Now, anything seems possible again.” Best of all, Potter didn’t have to pace the floor or down a martini during Federer’s Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal earlier this year. “I looked at my phone and screamed when I saw that he won,” she says. “My husband thought someone was breaking into the house. ‘No,’ I said, ‘it’s just Roger.’ ”

odd Snyder was watching Federer practice at Flushing Meadows. The Swiss legend had drawn his customary congregation of worshippers, but Snyder found himself zoning out a little as he watched a casual Federer try “freaky weird trick shots” for the better part of an hour. Then something happened that made Snyder sit up: His other favorite player, Federer’s coach Stefan Edberg, came out to hit. Seeing them together was a clarifying experience. “I loved Edberg and thought he was so smooth,” Snyder says, “but Federer made him look almost robotic. “It made me realize again how special Federer is. Even his volleys were much cleaner.” It also made Snyder, a Brooklyn teaching pro, realize that there was something in Federer’s game that his students could learn from after all. Normally, he thought Federer should wear a “don’t try this at home” sign on his back. “I can’t teach them how to fly through the air or hit the tweener,” says Snyder, who had a good seat for Federer’s most famous rendition of that shot, against Djokovic at the ’09 Open. “But watching him hit forehand volleys, I noticed how he stayed on the ball. It was so simple, with no extraneous movement. It’s hard to do, but it was a good lesson.” Like so many other tennis fans, Snyder was drawn to Federer in the early 2000s because he made for such a contrast with the prevailing, power-oriented style. “He just had this easy vibe about him,” Snyder says. “It captivated me.” Snyder admits that he “went off” Federer a little during his dominant years, when he began showing up at Wimbledon in a white blazer. But he jumped back on the bandwagon in 2008, when he saw him come back to beat Igor Andreev in five sets at the US Open. “He started coming forward in that match,” Snyder says, “and really showed he could change and do whatever it takes. I like that he became a fighter.” Snyder knows that the fight has grown increasingly uphill with age, and like any passionate fan, he has learned to protect himself from heartbreak. “When he played Rafa in the Aussie final, I said, ‘He won’t win a set.’ Federer was down 2–3 in the fifth and I yelled, ‘Just

break him, for once!’ This time he did; I couldn’t believe it.” It wasn’t only the win that mattered, it was how he did it. “When he’s playing free, I’ve never seen anything like that on a tennis court,” Snyder says. “It was worth all of the struggles to see him do it again this year.”

hen Federer loses, Alana Fishberg knows what she’ll hear from her two teenage sons. “They root against him because they know how much I like him,” she says with a laugh. “If he loses, they say, ‘What did you expect, Mom? I mean, he’s soooo old.” That, according to Fishberg, is kind of the point. “I always thought Federer was amazing for how he hit the ball,” she says. “You can’t stop your jaw from dropping at some of his shots. But now, when he’s 35, to see an athlete that age cover the whole court is just incredible.” Fishberg, a longtime player and fan who teaches tennis to children in after-school programs in Brooklyn, wasn’t drawn to Federer because she could relate to the way he played. “I have a two-handed backhand and forehand,” she says, “and I was a big Agassi fan. But Federer was such a surprise when he came along. I became a fan when he started winning the majors and became a dominant player.” While Fishberg likes Federer’s easy game and attitude, as a player she knows he can’t always be the perfect gentleman. “Sometimes I’ll hear an outburst from him, or hear him berate himself, and I’ll think, ‘Oh, that wasn’t very Fedlike,’ ” she says. “But it was, of course. I know he says the right things, but he has to be a beast, too. He has to be a killer.” For Fishburg, competitiveness is part of Federer’s appeal. “My kids like [Fabio] Fognini and [Gael] Monﬁls and [Nick] Kyrgios,” she says. “They think it’s hilarious when they tank or throw away a match. I think it shows no respect for the sport. “I’ve seen Federer lose, and not play well, but he’s always out there trying. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him tank even a point. That’s part of what keeps his fans coming back, I think. You always know what you’re going to get with him. You’re going to get his best.”

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2015

STARS COME OUT AT NIGHT

Tennis fans from everywhere converge on Arthur Ashe Stadium each August and September to take in Federer’s night matches. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have watched from Federer’s player box, and celebrities can be spotted throughout the arena. There’s a buzz in the air and the heightened anticipation of a can’t-miss moment.

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BROADWAY JUNCTION

by Douglas Robson

As Roger Federer wowed in Oz with his play, Hamilton’s playwright admired from afar

Their Shots Revolutionaries in their respective ﬁelds, Miranda and Federer seem intent on living up to one of Hamilton’s signature refrains: “The world will never be the same.”

New Yorkers, too, relish the contributions of both men: Federer’s grace and show-stopping creativity, such as his net-charge oﬀ a short-hop return of serve (SABR) and Miranda’s electrifying raps and riﬀs in re-telling the life story of Alexander Hamilton. It’s no small reason why Michael Jordan has showed up in Federer’s player box, and Hamilton has been visited by no less than President Barack Obama. Perhaps the greatest nexus between the two game-changers is ambition. Federer sees tennis and theater as kindred souls, especially at showcase venues like Arthur Ashe Stadium. A night match there carries the same mix of tension, elation and expectation an actor might feel on Broadway.

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Miranda once said that he wrote half of Hamilton while watching Federer’s matches.

ennis’ popularity and global crosscurrents have made for some interesting bedfellows. The mutual admiration society between Roger Federer and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is one of the more unusual pairings, at least at ﬁrst blush. The ﬁve-time US Open champion and the multiple Tony- and Pulitzer-prize winning Broadway megastar have never met. But Miranda is an avid tennis fan—and very public Federer devotee. Federer, who enjoys a good performance as much as anyone, caught Hamilton during the 2015 US Open and was spellbound. When he gushed

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out the musical in a post-match interview, an online bromance was born. Miranda responded on Twitter: “Thank YOU, @rogerfederer. I wrote half the thing while watching you play.” Federer was equally impressed. “I saw Hamilton during the Open, and thought it was mind blowing,” Federer told TENNIS. “The amount of speed and text that they were singing and rapping was jaw-dropping. The show kept me entertained from start to ﬁnish, and it was also a fun way to learn and experience some history about one of America’s founding fathers.” During this year’s Australian Open, Miranda picked up the thread again. The Broadway maestro seemed more preoccupied with Federer’s surprising run than his Oscar nomination for the original song “How Far You’ll Go” from the movie Moana. He relayed the Oscar nod to fans by saying his phone rang when watching the tournament on tape delay. Miranda added that he was “very grateful” for the nomination—and in the same tweet begged: “DON’T SPOIL THE FEDERER MATCH I STILL HAVEN’T FINISHED.” Federer is happy to help. “I did know that he was a tennis fan and that he once said that he wrote half of Hamilton watching my matches,” says Federer. “I would like to invite him so he can watch my matches live and not on tape delay.” What do a New York native of Puerto Rican descent and a Swiss athlete have in common? There are synergies. Both men are artists that love the big stage. Both are boundarybending innovative forces. Both are husbands and fathers in their mid-30s (Miranda, 37, is 16 months older than Federer). Both have used the Big Apple as a launching pad to stardom and appreciate its diverse culture.

“The similarities are plentiful,” says Federer. “Performing in front of an audience. Feeling the anxiety to put on a good show for the crowd. You get an immediate answer to how your performance was from the live crowd, which at times can be exhilarating. It’s the unknown that makes it so worthwhile.” There are more parallels. Hamilton grew up on the tiny Caribbean island of St. Croix. His audacious life story arced from orphan and rebel to Revolutionary War hero and the nation’s ﬁrst Treasury Secretary. Federer? He, too, left his hometown in search of glory. A hotheaded junior from Basel, Federer rose quickly through the ranks to become the most decorated male player in Grand Slam history. They also have in common: an arch-rival (Rafael Nadal as

Aaron Burr); death and loss (Federer’s formative coach, Peter Carter; Hamilton’s first son, Philip); devoted wives (Mirka and Eliza); and a cast of revolutionary characters whose imprint on the game and the nation’s founding is overlapping and seminal (Pete Sampras, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray; George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson). To add to the crossover karma, Miranda’s wife’s maiden name is Vanessa Nadal. Go figure. Federer’s longest drought at any of the majors is in New York; he captured the last of his five consecutive titles in 2008. It would be a worthy final act if he could close the 2017 season with another major title. And one can only imagine what the multitalented Miranda could do with that story.

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NEW YORK MINUTE

by Ed McGrogan

An editor’s notes about his unlikely encounter with Roger Federer Roger & Me The 2007 US Open was a memorable tournament for both of these men—although one of them probably doesn’t remember this picture being taken.

oger” is how my mother referred to him, like a neighbor, or a co-worker she met for coffee every day at the hospital cafeteria. This Roger, though, was less than half my mother’s age, didn’t have to work another day in his life and was drinking coffee made from the finest beans— brewed in a sleek machine he was being paid to endorse. Nevertheless, as I headed out for two weeks of writing, working and watching tennis at the US Open, my mother left me with these words: “You’ve got to ask Roger for a picture!” The fact that Roger was already a household name in upstate New York was no small feat for a tennis player from Switzerland. But by the 2007 US Open, where Roger would be trying to win his 11th major title in four years, there were few more recognizable first names in all of sports. It was a significant event for me as well. This was the first tournament I would be credentialed for, and not just as a writer. That would be my day job; at night, I would preside over the media section of Arthur Ashe Stadium as a seat marshal, kicking trespassers out of the choice courtside seats. The hours were long: in by 9:30 a.m., out by 10:30 p.m., at the earliest. I was working harder than I did at my real job as an insurance underwriter. But I savored the opportunity. In particular, I loved watching Roger up close. I’d been a fan of his for years, but had never seen his opulent game in person. It was worth the wait: there, one evening, was Roger, walking onto the court in jet black from headband to toe guard, with John Williams’ Star Wars theme pulsing through the stadium. If Roger was Darth Vader, Paul Capdeville, his second-round opponent, was no more than a Rebel Trooper.

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The climactic battle scene came three rounds later: Roger, the top seed, against Andy Roddick, the top American. The two leads elicited the best from each another, and constant cheer from the fans. For two sets, it was Peak Roddick— which only meant that it was answered by Peak Roger. As with most of his matches in 2007, Roger won in straight sets. Dusk had given way to an onyx sky, and with the preceding night match having ended around 10 p.m., the satisfied ticketholders headed home. So had most of the press, having dutifully written their match stories after Roddick lost the second set. With my working day and night complete, I stuck around for a surprisingly sparse post-match press conference as a fan—and then seized an unlikely opportunity. After all the questions had been answered and the room began to clear, I mustered up the courage and sprung mine, visions of the ultimate souvenir dancing in my head: “Mr. Federer, could I could get a photo with you?” Ten years later, I cringe at the audacity of it all. But with the tournament winding down and an ever-growing stack of insurance policies waiting for me back home, I felt as if I had nothing to lose—except my credential. Unlike with Capdeville and Roddick, Mr. Federer took pity on me and accommodated my request. A photo was snapped in the hallway—it’s a keepsake that reminds me of my first US Open, and of an all-time great in the midst of his prime. Today, we’re both more experienced professionals, but some things haven’t changed at Flushing Meadows: this summer, I’ll watch the five-time champion’s matches with the same interest, if less pure fandom, while Federer will undoubtedly be taking more photos with eager, starry-eyed fans. For all of those fans, myself—and, of course, my mother— I say this: thanks, Roger.

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s t r u , o e c u l r b u O y be e a r â&#x20AC;&#x2122; m t we bu nking thi en. gre ting ra b e l ce ening n i us of gre n i o J ars en e y 10 US Op the

Since the 2008 US Open, the USTA has: Diverted over 3,400 tons of waste from landfills; Recycled 2.6 million plastic bottles; and Welcomed over 2.8 million fans arriving using mass transit. To learn more about greening your home court, visit:

USOpen.org/green

i underappreciated—career, Andy Roddick has a humble perspective on where he stands among the game’s greats

JORDAN MANSFIELD/GETTY IMAGES

BY STEPHEN TIGNOR

tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

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But what about five years ago? Does Roddick’s record look a little more laudable now than it did back then? Brad Gilbert thinks that, from the perspective of U.S. men’s tennis, the answer is yes. “At the time he started, he was measured against the Agassis, the Samprases, the McEnroes, the Connorses, guys who dominated,” says Gilbert, who coached Roddick in 2003 and ’04. “But now you look back, and Andy is the last American guy to win a Slam, and was the last U.S. guy to make the semis at a Slam until Sam Querrey at Wimbledon.” When Roddick turned pro, in 2000, Sampras and Agassi had just completed a run of seven straight years as year-end No. 1. Roddick appeared to be the natural heir to the Amercian tennis throne, and his 140-m.p.h. serve appeared to be the game’s next evolutionary step. While those expectations sound sky high now, he met them early in his career. In 2001, Roddick won his first meeting with Sampras, in Miami; in 2003, he beat Agassi for the first time, won the US Open and edged out Roger Federer for the year-end No. 1 ranking. That would be the last time, of course, that Roddick would finish ahead of Federer in virtually anything. The Swiss would take over No. 1 for the next four years and beat the American in four Grand Slam finals.

For Gilbert, it wasn’t just Federer’s wins over Roddick that signaled a new era, it was what he represented. “The game just got so much more global this century,” Gilbert says. “The best guys could come from anywhere. I still can’t believe Fed isn’t from Southern California, that he isn’t the descendent of Pistol Pete [Sampras].” Knowing what we know now, rather than what we knew in 2000, Roddick’s 32 ATP tour titles, 10 trips to Grand Slam semﬁnals and nine straight years in the Top 10 don’t look so disappointing. They look like a noble eﬀort to stem the global tides of tennis history. It’s that last stat—the years in the Top 10—that gives Roddick the most satisfaction now. “I’m proud of staying there for that long,” he says. “I didn’t have a lot of peaks and valleys. I showed up and went about the game in a professional way.”

hat leads to the one lingering question about Roddick’s career: should he have risked a few valleys in pursuit of more peaks? When he arrived on tour, his serve and forehand were state-of-the-art power shots; over the years, though, he became content to serve big and then

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’ll be in the room,” Andy Roddick says, with a quiet sense of satisfaction, when he’s asked what being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame means to him. For the Omaha native and Austin resident, who retired at the unfashionably early age of 30 and has largely kept his distance from the sport in the five years since, that’s more then enough. “You might think it would make you walk around with your chest out,” Roddick says of receiving the game’s final honor. “But it’s been a humbling experience. When you think of yourself in there with someone like Rod Laver, you feel the gravity of it.” “I can’t compare myself with guys like that, but just to have a commonality with your heroes is a great feeling.” This isn’t the first time that the everself-aware American has been happy just to be included among the game’s elite. In 2013, he attended a gala event in New York City to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ATP’s computer rankings. Surrounded by fellow former No. 1s including Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal, Ilie Nastase and Stefan Edberg, Roddick delivered the line of the evening when he said, “It’s an honor to be the worst player in this room.” Roddick’s attitude now is the same as it was then. He says that being a Hall of Famer hasn’t changed his perspective on what he accomplished during his 12 seasons on tour. “My career is no better or worse than it was a year ago,” he says.

Roddick shouldered the burden of being the top American man throughout his career and delivered early on, when he won the 2003 US Open as a 21-year-old (far right). He also led the United States to the 2007 Davis Cup title. He’ll always be remembered for his charisma and commitment to the U.S. game—as well as for valiant efforts in defeat. Roddick finished second at the 2006 US Open and was runner-up three times at Wimbledon, losing to Federer each time. In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick held serve until the 77th and final game of a four-hour and 16-minute marathon. “I was just trying to survive each time and hold serve and give myself a shot,” Roddick said. “It didn’t work out, but I definitely gave myself a look.”

rally steadily from the baseline. “I used to try to get him to take the ball earlier,” says Patrick McEnroe, who worked with Roddick on the U.S. Davis Cup team from 2001 to 2010. “But his baseline game was pretty ingrained. When he was a junior, he didn’t get taller until later, and his serve didn’t become a weapon until later. He always had that grinder’s mentality.” But McEnroe doesn’t question the eﬀort that Roddick put into improving. “He developed a really good slice,” McEnroe says, “and got in great shape. I think he could have played longer if he had been able to shorten points.” Top opponents eventually got a read on Roddick’s serve, and a new, nimbler generation of Europeans led by Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray could do more from the baseline. Roddick’s combined record against the Big Four was 13–41, with Federer alone accounting for 21 of those defeats. But Roddick, who made his share of coaching changes, says he has no regrets. He believes he did everything within his power to keep up with the leaders of a Golden Era in men’s tennis. “Whether it was coming forward more when I worked with Jimmy [Connors],” Roddick says, “or losing weight with Larry [Stefanki], I think I thoroughly explored my talent.”

One place where Roddick’s efforts were ultimately rewarded was in Davis Cup. His dedication to the American cause is another source of pride for him. “I’m happy I always answered the call for U.S. tennis,” Roddick says, “and that I took that commitment seriously.” Davis Cup offered a more satisfying career trajectory for Roddick. On tour, he started at the top and struggled to recapture his early glory. Roddick’s dedication to playing for his country, though, was rewarded in 2007, when he led the United States to its only Cup since 1995. Roddick’s 33 Davis Cup singles wins are the second-most in U.S. history; only John McEnroe has more. “He was the ultimate team guy,” says Patrick McEnroe, the captain of that winning 2007 team. “He reveled in the atmosphere, and he was a leader. He gets a lot of credit for that title.” But McEnroe was even more impressed with how Roddick competed in defeat. “He always put it all on the line, even when he knew he was going to lose,” McEnroe says. “I really gained respect for the way he played when we were on the road, on clay. When we lost to France [in the 2002 semifinals], he was in tears in the lockerroom. He came up to me and said, ‘Sorry captain.’ And I just said, ‘What do you have to be sorry about?’”

en years after taking the United States to the Davis Cup mountaintop, Roddick is happy to have put some distance between himself and the game. He says that as of now, he has no interest in joining his fellow Hall of Famers in the coaching ranks—“there are lots of guys more qualiﬁed than me.” “I didn’t retire so I could travel,” Roddick adds. “I was never much of a locker-room warrior.” Roddick says he doesn’t second-guess his decision to stop at what now seems like the early age of 30. (“I wanted to go out when I could still stand up and play a little,” he says.) But he does admit that it’s “a little strange” to see so many of his comtemporaries still winning titles while he’s going into the Hall of Fame. Like many of us, Roddick has been shocked by what one of those contemporaries is doing. No one knows better than Roddick what Federer can do on a tennis court, but his win at the Australian Open this year still came as a surprise. “I didn’t know if he could win another Slam,” Roddick says. “But we get caught up in seeing Novak beat Roger or Rafa in one match, and we close the door and declare it the end of an era. Matchups change, and they can go back and forth.” Someday, the door will be closed on the careers of Roddick’s more celebrated peers. And when Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic ﬁnally make it to Newport, they can be proud to have a place in the room with him.

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The

SUMMER of

1977 The 1977 season was one of the most colorful and enduringly significant in tennis history. Throughout this year’s Grand Slam season, we’ll celebrate the 40th anniversary of that most memorable of sporting summers.

Part 3

Renégade

PA R T 1 : G U I L L E R M O V I L A S LOOKING BACK ON THE ARGENTINE’S MIRACULOUS, BITTERSWEET YEAR ( M A Y/ J U N E )

PA R T 2 : W I M B L E D O N THE GAME’S GRANDDADDY TURNS 100, AND THE MEN’S ‘70S GOLDEN AGE BEGINS ( J U L Y/ A U G U S T )

PA R T 3 : R E N É E R I C H A R D S AT A N A N A R C H I C U S O P E N , A PIONEER MAKES HER POINT ( SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER )

The 1977 US Open was the culmination of Renée Richards’ lifelong journey in tennis and identity by S T E P H E N T I G N O R

As Renée Richards walked through the winding, Tudor-lined lanes of Forest Hills, people from the neighborhood gathered around her to wish her luck. After seeing the ophthalmologist’s picture in the newspapers for months, the locals of Queens knew where she was going—the West Side Tennis Club—and the magnitude of what she was about to do. It was August 1977, the closing weeks of the notorious Summer of Sam in New York City. Over three harrowing months, the crumbling metropolis had been rocked by terrorizing riots, a chaotic blackout and the frantic search for a serial killer. As autumn mercifully approached, though, tennis became the

talk of the town, and Richards was, for the moment, the world’s most talkedabout athlete. In 1953, Richards had entered the men’s draw at the U.S. Nationals under the name Richard Raskind. Twenty-four years later—and two years after having sexual-reassignment surgery and changing her name—Renée was on her way to play her ﬁrst match as a woman at the same event, now known as the US Open. To make it there, she had weathered a chromosome test, boycotts by her fellow players, the scrutiny of the media, a ban by the sport’s oﬃcials and a lawsuit to overturn that ban. But Forest Hills wasn’t just the home of the Open; it was also Richards’ home.

US OPEN issue

Woman of the Hour Local supporters, curious fans and voluble dissenters followed Richards’ (left, with Betty Ann Stuart) every move during the 1977 US Open, in person and on a national television broadcast.

These tree-lined lanes were where young Richard had grown up, where he had learned to play tennis—and where he discovered as a child that he had a second, female self inside him, ﬁghting to get out. “People crowded ’round,” Richards recalled of her walk to West Side that day, “wishing me well on the same streets where I had skulked 30 years before, wearing my sister’s clothes.” Now, at 43, she felt free. “There was tennis to be played,” Richards said. “My heart lightened at the prospect. I was about to do the thing that had saved me so many times before—and on the greatest stage in the world, I would do it as Renée.”

ichards’ walk through the gates at West Side was the culmination of a 12-month whirlwind that had upended her life and her sport, and left her playing, as she put it, “tennis in a fishbowl.” She had taken the plunge into that fishbowl in August 1976, when she entered her first pro tournament as a woman at the Orange Lawn Tennis Club in New Jersey. There had never been a debut quite like it. The Rolls Royce that took her to the grounds before her opening match was greeted by dozens of fans, autograph seekers and celebrity hounds. As the car approached the clubhouse, the mob surged toward it.

Inside, Richards sank down in her seat. Was this private person ready for the public life that awaited her? Just one year before, Dr. Richard Raskind, an accomplished athlete who had captained the men’s team at Yale two decades earlier, had undergone sexual-reassignment surgery. Soon after, as Dr. Renée Richards, she moved from New York to Newport Beach, CA, to start a new life. But there was one thing she couldn’t leave behind: her conspicuous skill at tennis. After impressing the members at her new club, Richards agreed to enter a tournament in nearby La Jolla. A woman in the audience made the connection between the tall lefty who was mowing

V I S I T T E N N I S . C O M F O R M O R E I N S I G H T O N T H E U S O P E N ’ S P A S T, P R E S E N T & F U T U R E

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 69

The

SUMMER of

1977 down the competition, and a story she heard about a tennis-playing doctor who moved west after having a sex change. When a TV station subsequently— and erroneously—ran a report that Richards was a man masquerading as a woman, she became front-page news. Richards set the record straight at a press conference. The attention died down, and the paparazzi moved on. But one set of reports continued to irk her. “Officials in the governing bodies of tennis,” Richards wrote in an autobiography, Second Serve, “were quoted as saying that I would not be allowed to participate in major championships for women because of my past as Richard Raskind.” Richards had never been an activist, but after her story broke she received an avalanche of mail, many from minority communities, urging her to play. “The whole world seemed to be looking for me to be their Joan of Arc,” she said. After some prodding, Richards decided to take on the role. She wanted “to prove that transsexuals as well as other persons fighting social stigmas can hold their heads up high.” Among the letters Richards received was one from an old friend, Gene Scott. The former pro was angry at how Richards was being treated, so he invited her to enter the tournament he ran in New Jersey. When she accepted, 23 female players boycotted. At the Orange Lawn Tennis Club that August, Scott was there to help Richards out of the Rolls Royce and through the crowd of gawkers. The clubhouse offered a respite from the masses, but she wasn’t free of the press. To get to her practice court, Richards slipped out a back window and down a fire escape. By the time her match began, she was punch-drunk and exhausted. “Don’t fall down, Renée,” was all she could think.

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Knowing that Howard Cosell was calling the match for a national television audience didn’t help. The only thing that did was the fact that her opponent, Kathy Beene, was even more nervous. Beene double-faulted 11 times, and Richards won in just 47 minutes. Richards was front-page news again, though sportswriters didn’t know what to make of this new brand of athlete. “At ﬁrst, it seemed like a put-on,” Sports Illustrated wrote. “A transsexual tennis player? A 6'2" former football end in frilly panties and gold hoop earrings

Time & Life Twenty-four years after entering the men’s draw of the U.S. Nationals as Richard Raskind, Richards returned to Forest Hills to compete in the women’s tournament.

pounding serves past defenseless girls?” UPI, in its report on her ﬁrst-round match, described Richards as a “tall and attractive 42-year-old ophthalmologist.” Later that night in Manhattan, Richards took pride in what she had accomplished when she saw the next day’s Daily News. As her fellow New Yorkers leaned out of cab windows to shout their

encouragement, she read a headline that could have been written for Jimmy Connors or Joe Namath: RENEE ROLLS IN NEW JERSEY OPENER Richards’ victory took her to a dizzying new place in her public life, but it also brought her back home. The night before her match against Beene, she paid a surprise visit to her father, David, at the family’s house in Forest Hills. She was relieved when he greeted her as if nothing had changed. A few days later, David Raskind paid a surprise visit of his own when he showed up at Orange Lawn for Renée’s third match. Tennis had been at the heart of their relationship. Years before, they had bonded during hitting sessions at the Sunrise Club in Queens, as both tried to escape the stressful intensity of life at home. There, young Richard was dominated by his mother and his older sister, who dressed him as a girl. By 9, he had begun to dress himself that way. As a teen, Richard came across Man Into Woman, the autobiography of Lili Elbe, a transsexual who was portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl. Elbe’s story rang true for Raskind. From his teens through his 30s, his psyche was the site of a prolonged battle between his outer male self, and an inner female persona who was constantly ﬁghting to get the upper hand. “During this period,” Richards said, “I probably would not have survived without tennis. Athletics was the one constant in an otherwise uncertain world.” On the surface, Richard Raskind was a success. He excelled at sports, graduated from Yale, became a surgeon, married and had a son, Nick. Underneath, though, he felt that he might “go mad” if he “continued masquerading as Dick.” At 40, Raskind underwent the three-and-half-hour procedure that set Renée free for good.

V I S I T T E N N I S . C O M F O R M O R E I N S I G H T O N T H E U S O P E N ’ S P A S T, P R E S E N T & F U T U R E

Break Points Richards’ appearance at Orange Lawn in 1976 wasn’t the ﬁrst time a player broke down a barrier at the historic club. In 1950, Althea Gibson became the ﬁrst black player to enter a USLTA-sanctioned event, the Eastern Grass Court Championships, at the same venue. Later that year, Gibson made the short trip across the Hudson River to Forest Hills, where she competed in the U.S. Nationals.

hen Richards’ run in New Jersey came to an end in the semis, against Lea Antonopolis, she thought she would repeat her breakthrough at the US Open. After all, that loss proved a woman could beat her. Despite being certified as a woman by the state of New York, though, Richards was forced to take a chromosome test. She refused to take it at first; when she did, the result was ambiguous. After being denied entry into the 1976 US Open, Richards countered with a lawsuit. During that time, Richards said she saw the “best and worst of women’s professional tennis.” Promoter Gladys Heldman risked WTA sanction when she invited Richards to play at her events. Billie Jean King’s World Team Tennis offered her a contract. Martina Navratilova encouraged Richards and later

hired her as her coach. Others weren’t as welcoming: one opponent responded to Richards’ aces with a middle finger. Help came from an unsavory, if effective, corner: Roy Cohn. The legendarily vicious consigliere to Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump took Richards’ case. The tennis authorities never stood a chance. With a supportive affidavit from King, Richards won her suit. Yet that wasn’t the end of the controversy. At the 1977 US Open, Richards drew Virginia Wade in the first round. Asked how she would feel if she lost to Richards, Wade said, “I’d demand that she be tested.” Wade said she was joking and was misquoted, but did admit she wasn’t “comfortable with the whole idea.” By the time the match started before a capacity stadium crowd, Richards and Wade weren’t speaking. Wade, the ’77 Wimbledon champion, needn’t have worried; she beat a nervous

Richards, 6–1, 6–4. But Richards settled down in doubles and reached the ﬁnal with Betty Ann Stuart. She would eventually settle into the tour as well, climb to No. 20 in the world and coach Navratilova to No. 1. Richards found a home in women’s tennis, playing the game that had saved her so many times before. Now 83, Richards lives in upstate New York, far from the spotlight. Controversial in 1977, she is hailed as a pioneer in 2017, a time when the world has watched Bruce Jenner become Caitlyn Jenner. Richards remains a reluctant symbol. She has said she sees her gender status as a “part of life,” not a “way of life.” “I am ﬁrst and last an individual.” Spoken like a tennis player. If Richards is a hero to the LGBT community, she should also be one to players and fans. She made the Open era live up to its name by forcing the game to welcome anyone with the courage to be herself.

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 71

MASTER ·

Great Shots

Gael Monﬁls’ Swinging Forehand Volley The agile Frenchman hits this explosive shot diﬀerently from anyone else. BY JOHN YANDELL

Monﬁ ls’ shoulders turn,

Hi ha clo sh

2 As this unorthodox shot illustrates, Monfils is tennis’ version of a basketball player on his way to a dunk. As he starts to leap off the court, Monfils—an NBA fan—raises his right leg first, similar to the way some pros, like Kei Nishikori, elevate to hit high two-handed backhands.

72 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

Having elevated several feet into the air, Monﬁls’ startling explosiveness becomes apparent. But from the waist up, his hitting arm and upper body are in position for a conventional swinging volley. His shoulders are fully turned and his racquet stays on his right side, with the face closed slightly to the court.

3 Normally, the racquet head comes from slightly below the level of the ball to impart topspin. But Monﬁls has jumped to such a height where he can actually swing down on the ball. He starts his forward body rotation into the shot, and the bend in his elbow has increased, raising the racquet above ball level.

F O L LOW G A E L M O N F I L S A S H E P R E PA R E S T O P L AY F L U S H I N G M E A D OW S AT T E N N I S . C O M

CLASS

I N S I G H T, T I P S AND LESSONS FROM THE BEST INSTRUCTORS I N T H E WO R L D

Two months after turning 30 and 12 years after turning pro, Monfils reached a career-high ranking of No. 6. His breakthrough 2016 season included his sixth ATP title, earned with a hard-fought victory over Ivo Karlovic in Washington, D.C. The Frenchman then reached the US Open semifinals without dropping a set, before bowing out to Novak Djokovic. Monfils ended his memorable year by qualifying for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals for the first time. Vitals Birth date: Birthplace: Turned pro:

DAVID KENAS (6); AP

T h fa to

September 1, 1986 Paris, France 2004

Height: Weight: Plays:

6-foot-4 177 pounds Right-handed

Year-End Ranking History 2016: 7 2015: 24 2014: 18

Monﬁ l in the a his sw ﬁ nishe

He lands at least two feet away from the n t

Although Monﬁls has hit his swinging volley downward with tremendous force, his follow through is relaxed and across his body. His shoulders have continued to rotate and he catches his racquet with his opposite hand. He is preparing to recover for his next shot— which may not be necessary if this one is struck for a clean winner.

If Monﬁls were closer to the net, he could never have made a full swing—because he’d lose the point by hitting the net. Keep this in mind if you attempt to pull oﬀ this shot, which, if done correctly, can end points with an exclamation.

4 Just after contact, there’s a downward angle to Monfils’ swing. His shoulders are driving the shot, with his elbow bent and his wrist laid back. Monfils will hit this ball sharply crosscourt and almost totally flat. He is still several feet in the air.

John Yandell is the publisher of the TennisPlayer.net digital magazine. Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 73

M A ST E R CLASS

Freeze Frame

Venus Willia Forehand High-speed video from the 1997 US Open showed Williams averaging over 2,000 r.p.m her forehand, more than Pete Sampras or A Agassi and almost double that of her oppon in the final, Martina Hingis. Her forehand technique helped advance the women’s ga and at 37, she’s still using it as a weapon. BY JOHN YANDELL

1 2 3

• The core of Williams’ forehand technique is her semi-Western grip. Compared to the majority of her late-’90s contemporaries, Williams rotated her hand a bevel or more farther under the handle.

• While players like Lindsay Davenport pointed their left arms at the ball, Williams brought her left arm across her body to point at the right sideline. Her radical upper body turn substantially increases her shoulder turn toward the net.

• Williams also advanced the game with her reliance on semi-open and open stances. She rarely steps across into her forehand, even on short or low balls. Combined with a heavier load on her right leg, her stances increased the amount of coil in her legs and torso, making her forward swing tremendously powerful. She remains ahead of the curve to this day, still rotating her shoulders far throughout the shot, and exploding oﬀ the court with one or both legs.

John Yandell is the publisher of the TennisPlayer.net digital magazine and an instruction editor for TENNIS.

74 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

F O L LO W V E N U S W I L L I A M S T H R O U G H O U T T H E S U M M E R H A R D - C O U R T S E A S O N AT T E N N I S . C O M

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M A ST E R CLASS

The Gigi Method

by Gigi Fernandez

Former world No. 1 doubles player; International Tennis Hall of Famer; founder of The Gigi Method

The most unorthodox doubles formations The Australian formation and I-formation are the most common doubles formations, but there are a variety of others I’ve seen players employ. You may want to consider using these unusual formations if your team is regularly dropping serve, or when it’s clear that something needs to change. You can also use these formations to experiment. Let’s say it’s midway through the set and your team is comfortably ahead. Try one of these formations to see how your opponents deal with it— and to see if you and your partner are comfortable. Even if you lose the point, you will have gained valuable information about your opponents’ tendencies that could help you later in the match.

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1 / TWO BACK WHEN SERVING If the server’s partner (Player B) is not comfortable at the net, he or she can stay back with the server (Player A). This will hide Player B’s weakness, and—especially if the server is struggling— get Player B out of the way of a massive return.

I M P R O V E Y O U R G A M E W I T H I N S T R U C T I O N A L V I D E O S A N D A D V I C E AT B A S E L I N E .T E N N I S . C O M

2 / TWO BACK ON THE SAME SIDE

3 / REVERSE SERVE AND VOLLEY

Let’s say that the server (Player A) prefers to hit forehands—so much so that after serving to the ad court, he or she wants to immediately move to the deuce side and hit forehands. At the same time, the server’s partner (Player B) is uncomfortable at net, but must cover the ad side. In this situation, Player B would stand near the ad side alley while Player A serves, and then both players would shift over toward the deuce side.

In this formation, Player A serves and volleys while Player B backpedals toward the baseline after the serve is struck. If two up is considered the Holy Grail of aggressive doubles, then this may seem counterintuitive. But it’s all part of the game.

Learn more from Gigi Fernandez at www.GigiFernandezTennis.com

F O R D A I LY N E W S , C O M M E N T A R Y A N D L I V E S C O R E S D U R I N G T H E U S O P E N , G O T O T E N N I S . C O M

Sept/Oct 2017 tennis.com 77

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The Spirit of the Sisters ·

“The ﬁrst time you win, nobody picks you. The last time you win, nobody picks you. You’ve just got to pick yourself.” Tennisplaying philosopher Venus Williams uttered those words at Wimbledon last year. Like so many of Venus’ cosmically inspiring pronouncements, it belongs in any collection of great motivational quotes.

Over the last 15 months, those words have not only seemed inspiring, but also prescient. A few days after Venus said them, she reached the semiﬁnals at Wimbledon for the ﬁrst time since 2009. This year, she went one round further at the Australian Open and at the All England Club. Could she do something similar at the US Open? If so, it would make Venus’ statement sound even more farsighted. Twenty years ago, as a brash and wiry 17-year-old rookie—a “Yearling,” as she described herself—Venus galloped all the way to her 80 tennis.com Sept/Oct 2017

first Grand Slam final, at Flushing Meadows. It was an unlikely run, and Venus would make a lot of fans happy if, as a 37-year-old, she could recapture some of that sport-changing magic. In 1997, the loudest cheers in Venus’ player box came from her 15-year-old sister, Serena, who wouldn’t make her US Open debut until the following year. In 2017, Venus will again be flying the Williams family flag alone. Serena, who is due to have her baby in September, may not be cheering her sister in person this time, but she’ll be with her in spirit.

R E A D W E E K LY P R O T O U R C O M M E N TA R Y F R O M S T E P H E N T I G N O R AT T E N N I S . C O M

Parting Shot

Considering that she defeated Venus in the quarterfinals at the 2015 US Open, and in the final of this year’s Australian Open, Serena’s biggest contribution may simply be staying out of her sister’s way. Whether or not she contends for the title, Venus’ enduring presence is what matters most to the Williams sisters’ never-ending story. We’ve heard a lot about how much Venus and Serena hate playing each other, but the truth is that neither would be the player or the person she is today without the other. “That’s my little sister, guys,” a beaming Venus told the crowd in Melbourne— this was her way of congratulating Serena on her 23rd Grand Slam singles title. Seeing the grin on her face, and the giggle in her voice, it was easy to forget that the little sister’s victory had come at the big sister’s expense. “Your win has always been my win,” Venus added, explaining the family philosophy that has served them so well. “And I think you know that.” “She’s the only reason I’m standing here today,” said Serena, turning the compliment around. “And the only reason the ‘Williams sisters’ exist.” It was Venus’ love of tennis that had first brought Serena to those legendary Compton tennis courts in the 1980s. And it was Venus’ belief that she could be the best in the world that made Serena believe the same thing. Serena wanted to follow in her sister’s footsteps, but she followed them so well that she ended up running right past her. If that led to any bitterness from Venus, she has never let it show. Instead, as she has dealt with the ups and downs and aches and pains that come with age, she has learned from Serena the way Serena once learned from her. “I’ve been really blessed to have this sister called Serena Williams,” Venus said this spring. “She’s so cool. She’s super inspiring, so I don’t really need to look much further [for motivation].” The first time Venus reached the US Open final, nobody picked her— except Serena. The same will probably be true the last time she plays at Flushing Meadows. This year, Venus will be on her own. She’ll be playing for herself, but at 37 she’ll also be doing the same thing she did for Serena at 17—showing her what’s possible, as long as you pick yourself.

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