Joined
·
6,754 Posts
Last Word on the Finals
Mary Carillo and John McEnroe analyzed the men's and women's finals of the United States Open for CBS, but they were only effective in one of them: Pete Sampras's four-set victory over Andre Agassi on Sunday. In that match, they were superb diagnosticians, maintaining a running commentary on Sampras's superiority through the first two sets, and Agassi's mysterious lethargy.
But for Serena Williams's straight-sets triumph over her sister Venus on Saturday night, Carillo and McEnroe seemed as energy-deprived as Agassi, letting opportunities for insight pass.
In fact, the best commentary of the match did not come from the booth, but from Richard Williams when he was interviewed by Pam Shriver early in the second set. "Looks like Venus's game is falling to pieces," Williams said. "Could be it's the blister in her hand, I don't know. Her feet aren't moving. She's falling back on her shots."
That was concise analysis — little of which McEnroe or Carillo noted beforehand, or followed up on. Maybe they were fatigued by a long day Saturday, which culminated in the Williams-Williams prime-time final.
The analysts did not discuss the possible reasons for Venus's many double faults or speculate on the potential effect of the blister. The comments were obvious, like Carillo's "Venus is having an off night serving," and Dick Enberg's "Venus isn't serving well; it's her Achilles' heel."
After Venus's seventh double fault, McEnroe said, "That just makes you more tentative."
More perspective was needed on their past finals, when one always seemed to outplay the other dramatically, as if these close sisters were unable to go full tilt at the same time. And more analysis was needed to pinpoint Venus's erratic play or to detail what was wrong with her misfiring serves.
With a late-afternoon start for the men's final on Sunday, Carillo and McEnroe sounded fresher, discoursing on Sampras's difficulties returning a wide forehand; the mechanics of Sampras's serve; Agassi's sluggishness; how Sampras was stepping into his backhand; and how Agassi had to slow his pace and use his legs better to get more on his second serve.
McEnroe rooted openly for Agassi to revive, looking for brief energetic moments that would presage a five-set match. "I think Agassi is the favorite to win if he wins this set," McEnroe said late in the third set. Agassi won the set as Sampras grew weary and his serve weakened. "I can assure you Agassi feels better now than at any time in the match," he said, combining analysis with wishful thinking.
Carillo and McEnroe even analyzed Sampras's slowdown tactics in the fourth set, including his walking over to the ball boys instead of having new balls tossed to him.
"He checks those balls like he's harvesting them," Carillo said.
In a surprise to those who believe that the Williams sisters are tennis's only hope, at least with regard to television ratings, consider this: the Sampras-Agassi match produced a 7.9 overnight Nielsen rating, up 44 percent from last year. It was the highest-rated men's final since 1990 — when Sampras beat Agassi. By comparison, the women's final rated a 7.2. Each overnight rating point equals 717,310 TV households.
new york times
Mary Carillo and John McEnroe analyzed the men's and women's finals of the United States Open for CBS, but they were only effective in one of them: Pete Sampras's four-set victory over Andre Agassi on Sunday. In that match, they were superb diagnosticians, maintaining a running commentary on Sampras's superiority through the first two sets, and Agassi's mysterious lethargy.
But for Serena Williams's straight-sets triumph over her sister Venus on Saturday night, Carillo and McEnroe seemed as energy-deprived as Agassi, letting opportunities for insight pass.
In fact, the best commentary of the match did not come from the booth, but from Richard Williams when he was interviewed by Pam Shriver early in the second set. "Looks like Venus's game is falling to pieces," Williams said. "Could be it's the blister in her hand, I don't know. Her feet aren't moving. She's falling back on her shots."
That was concise analysis — little of which McEnroe or Carillo noted beforehand, or followed up on. Maybe they were fatigued by a long day Saturday, which culminated in the Williams-Williams prime-time final.
The analysts did not discuss the possible reasons for Venus's many double faults or speculate on the potential effect of the blister. The comments were obvious, like Carillo's "Venus is having an off night serving," and Dick Enberg's "Venus isn't serving well; it's her Achilles' heel."
After Venus's seventh double fault, McEnroe said, "That just makes you more tentative."
More perspective was needed on their past finals, when one always seemed to outplay the other dramatically, as if these close sisters were unable to go full tilt at the same time. And more analysis was needed to pinpoint Venus's erratic play or to detail what was wrong with her misfiring serves.
With a late-afternoon start for the men's final on Sunday, Carillo and McEnroe sounded fresher, discoursing on Sampras's difficulties returning a wide forehand; the mechanics of Sampras's serve; Agassi's sluggishness; how Sampras was stepping into his backhand; and how Agassi had to slow his pace and use his legs better to get more on his second serve.
McEnroe rooted openly for Agassi to revive, looking for brief energetic moments that would presage a five-set match. "I think Agassi is the favorite to win if he wins this set," McEnroe said late in the third set. Agassi won the set as Sampras grew weary and his serve weakened. "I can assure you Agassi feels better now than at any time in the match," he said, combining analysis with wishful thinking.
Carillo and McEnroe even analyzed Sampras's slowdown tactics in the fourth set, including his walking over to the ball boys instead of having new balls tossed to him.
"He checks those balls like he's harvesting them," Carillo said.
In a surprise to those who believe that the Williams sisters are tennis's only hope, at least with regard to television ratings, consider this: the Sampras-Agassi match produced a 7.9 overnight Nielsen rating, up 44 percent from last year. It was the highest-rated men's final since 1990 — when Sampras beat Agassi. By comparison, the women's final rated a 7.2. Each overnight rating point equals 717,310 TV households.
new york times
