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I like this article, not so much because it's pro-Fed, but because it points out the appauling nature of tennis in the USA where non-Americans don't get the respect they deserve. At first I didn't care that he was first in the OOP, but then when I watched the match and saw that the stands were only like half full, I thought that's crap - #1 player in the world, defending champ and in his first match he's playing to a half empty stadium at 11 am. That's crap.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/colum...673500,print.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists
A virtuoso like Federer deserves more respect
Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
He is the defending champion of this tournament, the No. 1 player in the world, a man who, at 24 years old, is already touted as the best tennis player ever. That's all Roger Federer of Switzerland has going for him. And yet, Federer was asked to haul his bones out to center court yesterday to make his tournament debut at the definitely not-ready-for-prime-time hour of 11 a.m. The stadium was barely half full. Cars were still filing into the parking lots.
"I was little bit surprised," Federer admitted, though only when pressed. "I don't play much in the morning anymore."
A bigger egoist would have had a snit. Federer is the best European-born player to rise to No. 1 since Bjorn Borg, and yet whenever he comes to New York, he has to hear questions again and again about whether fans (read: Americans) will ever embrace a non-American tennis king like him. People say it as if class doesn't transcend borders. Or being appreciated for your ability depends on where you're from.
The suggestion is a lousy one, and yet it has become one of those bromides about tennis that's mindlessly repeated without being sternly challenged. The idea persists, even though what it insinuates is Americans are so jingoistic or shallow minded, we only can appreciate other Americans, not the likes of a Federer or a Borg, a Becker or a Graf. Well, says who?
"It's such parochial thinking," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said.
The yearning for American stars might be a reality for the folks who run TV, but it shouldn't sway the rest of us tennis fans who appreciate Federer for the marvel that he is, or sports fans in general, most of whom aren't accused of applying the same All-American standards to other sports.
Being a soft-spoken Canadian didn't prevent Wayne Gretzky from being an American sports hero. And there are many other examples. Well, Federer is tennis' equivalent of Gretzky. He's a magician with his racket, and a champion who oozes imagination, grace and smarts (he is fluent in five languages). As McEnroe pointed out yesterday, Federer has the beautiful, all-around game that explodes the damning but too often true complaint that men's tennis is boring because it's become all about the serve.
"Well, here's a guy who can hit every shot, a guy who understands and exploits the geometry of the game," McEnroe said. "And I hope people appreciate the way he's changed it. I hope they recognize what kind of guy he is, too. You look at the women's game now and, please. The women are all out for themselves. Roger cares about himself and he cares about the game. He's embraced the responsibility of being No. 1."
Federer's ability is so far above everyone else on tour, watching him dismiss Czech opponent Ivo Minar, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, yesterday was almost a wincing experience. The dissection was artful, all right. But the yawning gap between them was almost cruel.
If Federer were a differently constructed person, he might have come into the press room after that, huffing about his scheduling like other superstars, everyone from John McEnroe to Boris Becker to Martina Navratilova, have before him. Back in 1987, even nice-guy Swedes Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander were so upset about having to play their Open semifinal at 11 a.m., they refused to take the court on time just to make the TV networks squirm.
If Federer felt similarly disrespected yesterday, he took it in stride. He's different, all right. And that's the best thing about him.
"Being outrageous, trying to get attention, he won't play that game," Patrick McEnroe said.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/colum...673500,print.column?coll=ny-sports-columnists
A virtuoso like Federer deserves more respect
Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
He is the defending champion of this tournament, the No. 1 player in the world, a man who, at 24 years old, is already touted as the best tennis player ever. That's all Roger Federer of Switzerland has going for him. And yet, Federer was asked to haul his bones out to center court yesterday to make his tournament debut at the definitely not-ready-for-prime-time hour of 11 a.m. The stadium was barely half full. Cars were still filing into the parking lots.
"I was little bit surprised," Federer admitted, though only when pressed. "I don't play much in the morning anymore."
A bigger egoist would have had a snit. Federer is the best European-born player to rise to No. 1 since Bjorn Borg, and yet whenever he comes to New York, he has to hear questions again and again about whether fans (read: Americans) will ever embrace a non-American tennis king like him. People say it as if class doesn't transcend borders. Or being appreciated for your ability depends on where you're from.
The suggestion is a lousy one, and yet it has become one of those bromides about tennis that's mindlessly repeated without being sternly challenged. The idea persists, even though what it insinuates is Americans are so jingoistic or shallow minded, we only can appreciate other Americans, not the likes of a Federer or a Borg, a Becker or a Graf. Well, says who?
"It's such parochial thinking," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said.
The yearning for American stars might be a reality for the folks who run TV, but it shouldn't sway the rest of us tennis fans who appreciate Federer for the marvel that he is, or sports fans in general, most of whom aren't accused of applying the same All-American standards to other sports.
Being a soft-spoken Canadian didn't prevent Wayne Gretzky from being an American sports hero. And there are many other examples. Well, Federer is tennis' equivalent of Gretzky. He's a magician with his racket, and a champion who oozes imagination, grace and smarts (he is fluent in five languages). As McEnroe pointed out yesterday, Federer has the beautiful, all-around game that explodes the damning but too often true complaint that men's tennis is boring because it's become all about the serve.
"Well, here's a guy who can hit every shot, a guy who understands and exploits the geometry of the game," McEnroe said. "And I hope people appreciate the way he's changed it. I hope they recognize what kind of guy he is, too. You look at the women's game now and, please. The women are all out for themselves. Roger cares about himself and he cares about the game. He's embraced the responsibility of being No. 1."
Federer's ability is so far above everyone else on tour, watching him dismiss Czech opponent Ivo Minar, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, yesterday was almost a wincing experience. The dissection was artful, all right. But the yawning gap between them was almost cruel.
If Federer were a differently constructed person, he might have come into the press room after that, huffing about his scheduling like other superstars, everyone from John McEnroe to Boris Becker to Martina Navratilova, have before him. Back in 1987, even nice-guy Swedes Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander were so upset about having to play their Open semifinal at 11 a.m., they refused to take the court on time just to make the TV networks squirm.
If Federer felt similarly disrespected yesterday, he took it in stride. He's different, all right. And that's the best thing about him.
"Being outrageous, trying to get attention, he won't play that game," Patrick McEnroe said.
