http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/jon_wertheim/08/24/usopen.bag/2.html
A quick tip to those who are unhappy with the price of U.S. Open tickets: Check out the U.S. Open qualifying tournament! At last look it was still free, the matches are still great and there are a number of young prospects and older once-higher ranked players who are worth watching. If that's not enough, consider the fact that attending qualies lets you beat the main draw crowds. I've attended the USO for the last three years, and this year I'm passing on the main draw altogether. Last year the qualies allowed me the chance to catch Marcos Baghdatis, Sesil Karatantcheva and Vaidsova, just to name a few -- for free! -- Rebecca, Toronto
Excellent point, thanks. Matches started yesterday at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., so get out there!
I also liked this one about Hrbaty:
My friend and I saw Dominik Hrbaty clinically take apart Juan Carlos Ferrero, who wasn't far from his best, in Montreal. Watching the Dominator on a side court at such close quarters made us wonder why he isn't one of the elite five players in the game today. His maddeningly efficient game has no tangible weaknesses, he is supremely fit and often gave us the impression that we were watching the second coming of Ivan Lendl. In addition, I was surprised to see that Hrbaty has winning records against Federer, Nadal and Safin. What really befuddled me was that Hrbaty somehow contrived to lose to Greg Rusedski the next day. How can this possibly happen?-- Anandam Mamidipudi, Chelmsford, Mass.
I have no answer. But here's my testimonial: I watched Hrbaty play Patrick Rafter at a night match in Australia a few years. The guy played one of the high-quality sets of tennis I've ever seen, blocking out the crowd and passing the Australian. Rafter then won the third set, but again, the tennis was terrific. I went to get dinner, steeling myself for a classic. I returned to watch Rafter serve out the fourth set 6-0 to win the match. Hrbaty just totally disappeared.
Someone needs to watch some more Hrbaty matches, starting with his defeats against Ferrer, Agassi and Safin in TMS event this year. If this correspondent knew anything about the Dominator's previous head-to-head with Rusedski, he would also realise why that loss wasn't such a shock.
A quick tip to those who are unhappy with the price of U.S. Open tickets: Check out the U.S. Open qualifying tournament! At last look it was still free, the matches are still great and there are a number of young prospects and older once-higher ranked players who are worth watching. If that's not enough, consider the fact that attending qualies lets you beat the main draw crowds. I've attended the USO for the last three years, and this year I'm passing on the main draw altogether. Last year the qualies allowed me the chance to catch Marcos Baghdatis, Sesil Karatantcheva and Vaidsova, just to name a few -- for free! -- Rebecca, Toronto
Excellent point, thanks. Matches started yesterday at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., so get out there!
I also liked this one about Hrbaty:
My friend and I saw Dominik Hrbaty clinically take apart Juan Carlos Ferrero, who wasn't far from his best, in Montreal. Watching the Dominator on a side court at such close quarters made us wonder why he isn't one of the elite five players in the game today. His maddeningly efficient game has no tangible weaknesses, he is supremely fit and often gave us the impression that we were watching the second coming of Ivan Lendl. In addition, I was surprised to see that Hrbaty has winning records against Federer, Nadal and Safin. What really befuddled me was that Hrbaty somehow contrived to lose to Greg Rusedski the next day. How can this possibly happen?-- Anandam Mamidipudi, Chelmsford, Mass.
I have no answer. But here's my testimonial: I watched Hrbaty play Patrick Rafter at a night match in Australia a few years. The guy played one of the high-quality sets of tennis I've ever seen, blocking out the crowd and passing the Australian. Rafter then won the third set, but again, the tennis was terrific. I went to get dinner, steeling myself for a classic. I returned to watch Rafter serve out the fourth set 6-0 to win the match. Hrbaty just totally disappeared.
Someone needs to watch some more Hrbaty matches, starting with his defeats against Ferrer, Agassi and Safin in TMS event this year. If this correspondent knew anything about the Dominator's previous head-to-head with Rusedski, he would also realise why that loss wasn't such a shock.