An Unlucky Night for Americans in the Capital City

At the beginning of last night, there were sixteen men still in contention for the DC title. Four of them were American. Three of our guys had excellent chances of not only winning their matches, but going all the way at the tournament. Andy Roddick was the second seed and has wont he tournament 3 times before. John Isner recently made the final of the Atlanta tournament and was vaulted into stardom after winning the longest match in history at Wimbledon earlier this year. He lost the Atlanta final to man-of-the-moment, Mardy Fish, who was on an 11 match winning streak after taking home the title at both Newport and Atlanta and beating Viktor Troicki in his first match at Legg Mason. I think you all know where this is going. Today there are eight guys left and not a single one is American. Roddick lost to Gilles Simon, John Isner to Xavier Malisse, Mardy Fish to Marin Cilic, and qualifier Ryan Sweeting lost to Fernando Verdasco. This was all compounded by the second round loss of LA champion, Sam Querrey, who fell to Janko Tipsarevic.

Isner lost to Malisse in a third set tie breaker. This result was surprising considering Isner's consistency with breakers. Although it seems John may be facing some concerns over a shoulder injury, which caused him to pull out of doubles with Sam Querrey. Sweeting's defeat was no surprise. In terms of Mardy Fish, there's been a lot of hype lately. I saw him win the title in Newport a few weeks ago and the guy is clearly in the best shape of his life. He may have been ousted by Marin Cilic last night, but no matter, he's already won two title this summer alone. He deserves a little break anyway.

The big surprise of the night was Any Roddick's loss to Gilles Simon. I think Andy Roddick's always a bit of a favorite at Legg Mason. He's won the tournament 3 times and made the final last year before losing to Juan Martin del Potro, the eventual US Open champ. So, it's surprising that he lost, period, particularly in just his second match. The even bigger surprise was the winner, Gilles Simon, who has recently returned to the tour after battling a knee injury that kept him out for most of the clay season. Had this been early 2009, this defeat would not have been all that shocking. Gilles Simon was ranked 6th in the world and Andy Roddick hadn't yet reached the most heartbreaking Wimbledon final I've seen. For Gilles, I think a solid performane in Washington would help bring some of the old confidence back into his game. He's only 25, so he could clearly get back up there with the top players. I'm thinking probably the top 20. He's not a huge guy, only 5'11", so I'm not sure I'm convinced we'll be seeing him back in the top 10 real soon. Tennis has a whole has recently shifted to a new species of giants and I think it's going to keep getting more difficult for the normal sized players to compete at the highest level. I really like Gilles so hopefully his comeback goes as planned and we'll see some good results at the US Open.

My big concern out of this mass exodus of Americans is for Andy Roddick. According to Brad Gilbert's twitter, Andy will fall out of the top 10 after this loss. this will be a big blow to Andy's confidence going into the rest of the hardcourt warm ups for the US Open. Roddick will be 28 in a few weeks and is fast approaching a time where he will need a miracle to win another Grand Slam. If you've read the archives, you'll know that this is not a critique of Roddick. I am a huge fan of Andy and want nothing more than to see him win one of the big four. Andy did win the Miami Masters this year and made the final at Indian Wells so hopefully the rest of the return to hardcourts will go well for him, starting this week in Toronto.

Speaking of Andy Roddick, whoever is sending him nasty tweets needs to stop. I'm tired of hearing players are quitting twitter because people are being mean to them. I understand not everyone is a fan, but it is just stupid to tell a celebrity you don't like them. No one cares. Again, you can follow me on twitter by clicking the "Follow Me" button on the right hand side of the page. I'll try to keep it updated this weekend while watching the quallies in Toronto, but no guarantees as roaming charges on my blackberry may be a bit pricey from Canada.

In Other News...

So, by now you all know that I spent the weekend in Washington DC checking out the quallies and a lot of practice sessions at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. There were a few players I didn't get to see this weekend because they were in the finals and semi-finals of other tournaments.

Sam Querrey successfully defended his title in LA in a final against Andy Murray that I was fairly sure he was going to lose. This gives Querrey some excellent momentum going into Washington and the rest of the US Open Series. Sam hasn't posted stellar results at majors so far, but he is pretty amazing at the smaller tournaments. Like I said, Sam is scheduled to play in Washington this week and should post a decent result. I don't see him winning it though. I'll discuss the draw a little later. Quisner (Sam and John) are also scheduled to play doubles this week in search of their second title. They're still a long way off the Bryan brothers' record breaking 62nd title this weekend at the Farmer's Classic in LA. Bob and Mike may have broken the Woodies title record, but they still have to win four more slams to become the all-time men's doubles Slam title holders. All in, LA proved to be a great weekend for Americans. The Bryans are also in action this week at the Legg Mason Classic and will be looking to pick up title number 63.

Speaking of Americans, Andy Roddick is seed number 2 in Washington this year. He was won this tournament several times and was denied the title last year by Juan Martin del Potro. Andy needs some wins this summer if he has any hope at the US Open. He arrived in DC yesterday and took in some early morning practice. I was pretty devastated that I missed him. If you've read the rest of my posts, you probably know that I'm a big Roddick fan, so I say this in the nicest possible way. Andy isn't getting any younger, and the competition isn't getting any easier. If he plans on winning another Grand Slam, it's going to have to happen soon. Other Americans in the DC field include Kevin Kim, Ryan Sweeting, Mardy Fish, James Blake, and Rajeev Ram.

In terms of the draw, things shouldn't get interesting until around Wednesday when most of the seeded players will be on display. The top 16 players at the DC tournament are given byes through the first round. In Quarter number 1, it looks like we'll be seeing Tomas Berdych and John Isner. A possible upset could come from Richard Gasquet, who's coming off a final in Umag. However, I would take Berdych and Isner in this quarter.

In Quarter number 2, we've got Fernando Verdasco and Marcos Baghdatis. I don't have a lot of confidence in Baghdatis and this Ernests Gulbis could pose a serious threat. That kid can work some magic. Michael Llodra is in Verdasco's half of the quarter and he's had a pretty good year as well. I would say Verdasco/Gulbis for the quarters.

In Quarter number 3, the draw shows Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic. I've discussed Cilic before and I think he's in a bit of a slump. He's so young and has so much talent. I wish he'd just believe a little more. Mardy Fish is in Cilic's piece of the draw and he's had a pretty spectacular summer to date. He could be tired out, or he could be just getting started, but I've got to say that Fish looks to be in great shape so I like his chances. Querrey will have to deal with Lleyton Hewitt, but I this Querrey should make it through.

Finally, Quarter number 4 includes Andy Roddick and Stan Wawrinka. David Nalbandian would face Wawrinka in the second round assuming he makes it through Rajeev Ram in the first round. Nalbandian hasn't played a Grand Slam since the 2009 Australian Open, but posted some awesome results in Davis Cup this year. Andy Roddick should make it through Gilles Simon, who hasn't been really good for a while now. Coming back from injury has not been easy for Gilles and from what I saw at two of his practice sessions, his confidence just isn't there. He's missing the easy shots and it's making him angry. Radek Stepanek is the other seed in this quarter, but this is one of his first tournaments back from injury and getting married. I doubt practice has been at the top of his to-do list, so I think it will take him a while to get back into the tour groove.

Update: If you'd like to see my photos from the event, please follow the link below.

http://s966.photobucket.com/albums/ae146/lubinskya/Legg%20Mason%20Tennis%20Classic/

More Fun Facts: 7/31 + 8/1

I'll be posting a more serious entry about my weekend at Legg Mason later today, but I wanted to share some of the little things I learned this weekend.

Tomas Berdych and coach checked out the view from the POV rooftop bar before dinner. The three women standing next to them held out a camera and asked Tomas to take their photo. They clearly had no idea who he was. He happily obliged.

David Nalbandian took in the late night view from the bar with a considerable entourage and a fairly ugly shirt. FYI David, I'd be happy to join your team as a fashion consultant.

Kristof Vliegen mostly enjoyed the view of the women instead of DC, but seemed content to chat with a few visiting businessmen. I never would have recognized him if he didn't say that his name was Kristof and he was from Belgium, even then I had to check the draw to see if he was Christophe Rochus or Kristof Vliegen.

Fernando Verdasco was sleepy Sunday morning, or at least that's what he told me.

Radek Stepanek is feeling good after coming back from injury, according to a conversation with his buddy on his way to the gym.

John Isner is really hard to miss, but you probably already knew that. He was taking in some time at the gym late yesterday afternoon after a morning practice session with his coach.

Nenad Zimonjic wears True Religion jeans.

One of the guys traveling with Marcos Baghdatis wore a Roger Federer shirt to practice today. You would think Marcos would be a little offended by this.

Everyone loves Dmitry Tursunov. He practiced for a long time Sunday afternoon and thus ran into several other players on the courts. Before practice, he threw water at a shirtless Michael Llodra, who didn't seem to mind one bit, but did try to retaliate. Dmitry and Ernests Gulbis shared a few laughs before Gulbis' practice with Baghdatis. He even got Alejandro Falla to crack a smile, ribbing him about a flirtatious spectator. Overall, Dmitry just seemed to have a great rapport with the other players on tour. Plus, I kind of love him too.

Andrey Golubev had his girlfriend playing ball girl during serving practice.

Radek Stepanek likes dogs, or at least the one that was in the elevator with us.

Like I said, more on the actual tennis to come later, plus photos.

Do I Really Have to Leave Tomorrow?

Hi guys. So, after a wonderful night's sleep, I am over last night's ordeal and had an amazing time at the tennis today. Qualifying play started at around 10am at the tennis center in Rock Creek Park. Unfortunately the spectators' shuttle doesn't start until Monday, but the hotel Acura service chauffeured me to the tournament around 1pm. I didn't miss too much. Plus, while I was waiting in the lobby this morning, I happened upon an unoccupied Tomas Berdych, who was more than happy to pose for a picture with me and sign an autograph. This was definitely a good start for the rest of the day.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't spend anytime on Center Court today. Instead, I chose to enjoy the view of the practice courts. I watched a lot of practice sessions, including Michael Lloda, Gilles Simon, Julien Benneteau, Stanislas Wawrinka, Yen Hsun Lu, Viktor Troicki, David Nalbandian, Andrey Golubev, Rajeev Ram, Dmitry Tursunov, and probably a few more I forgot about.

Nearly all the players were happy to stop and sign autographs after their practice sessions. Stan Wawrinka was particularly fun to watch in practice as he was quite playful with his coach and spoke English the entire time. Although, he definitely wasn't pleased that someone screwed up his practice reservation. Gilles Simon did not seem at all happy with his practice this afternoon. If I knew any French obscenities, I'm betting that's what I was hearing from Simon's side of the court. Llodra was lovely as always. I've had quite the soft spot for him since I watched him practice in Rotterdam. Dmitry Tursunov looked like he was ready to kill someone after his practice. I got there at the very end after he was already finished, but it didn't look like it went well. His coach did hand out the practice balls to fans at the end though. Anyway, that was most of what I saw today, but I would like to follow this post with some fun facts.

Some Things You Probably Didn't Know:

Tomas Berdych has ridiculously blue eyes. I know they show him on TV all the time now, but this guy is a thousand times better looking in person. I even saw him play in person at the French, but this was still better.

Julien Benneteau has a picture of him and a woman I assume is his girlfriend as the background on his blackberry. No, I was not being a creeper. We road down in the same elevator this morning and he was holding his phone.

Even ugly players have pretty girlfriends.

David Nalbandian has the prettiest autograph I've seen so far.

There were puppies. They drew almost as large a crowd as some practice courts.

No one watches doubles practice.

Alright, I'm getting ready to head off for dinner, but I will definitely have a much more in depth tournament article for you guys on Monday.

Legg Mason Bound...Maybe

Hi Guys. I know my posts are usually long and thought out, but it's about 9:20pm in Boston and I'm at the airport waiting for my perpetually delayed flight to leave for Washington, DC so I can go see the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Anyway, the good news is it looks like I'll get there, the bad news, I've shelled out a lot of money to stay in the W Hotel (where the players stay during the tournament,) and am missing most of my first night. Since I have to sit here for another few hours, I thought I might share some of my thoughts with my readers, if they actually exist.

Putting aside the slight set back concerning my JetBlue flight out of Boston Logan, I am really excited to get down to DC for the Legg Mason tournament. I chose to fly out for the first weekend instead of finals weekend in hopes of catching more matches. Luckily, the DC tournament starts main draw play on Sunday instead of Monday. So, I will be attending the qualifiers and one day of main draw play. While the top 16 players have byes in the first round, I'm hoping maybe a few of them will turn up early to practice. Plus, I could always run into someone in the elevator at the W. When I attended the Estoril Open in May, I stayed at the absolutely gorgeous players' hotel and ended up sitting right next to a few at breakfast. I'm fairly certain doubles specialist, Robert Lindstedt started to recognize me for the amount of times we ended up in the same place. I have to add that this was not on purpose. If I was going to stalk a player, it would be someone significantly more famous than Robert Lindstedt. For me, it is entertaining enough to share the same place as an incredible tennis player, I feel no need to bother them. I am no tennis groupie. I believe there should be some limits if you're going to approach a player, and try to do so only at the actual tournament or if they are clearly not busy.

Andrea's Rules for Respecting Boundaries:
1. Never try to talk to a player during a meal. How would you like it if someone interrupted your dinner? These players should be allowed to have private lives too. The only exception to this rule could occur if the player is seated alone and makes the first contact. For instance, if the player is sitting at the table next to you in a restaurant, and asks you to pass the salt from your table, this is an invitation to begin some kind of conversation. He started it.
2. Don't treat the players like you know them when you meet them. It's weird. No matter how much you read about them on the internet, they are not your friends. You may address them by first name, but don't get weird. I may scream at my TV like Andy Roddick is my friend, but I'm aware that we do not actually know each other.
3. Don't try to butter up their entourage. When I was in Rotterdam for the ABN AMRO tournament, there was a girl who attended nearly every practice session and accosted the player at the end. As if this wasn't bad enough, she actually found a player's mom and started chatting her up. I was close enough to hear some of it and the girl played this woman until she would introduce her to her son. This is creepy, bordering on insane.
4. Never break out a camera if you are less than 10 feet from the player and haven't asked their permission. This rule is void if you're on tournament grounds and willing to deal with the awkwardness. A way around this is a camera with excellent zoom. If you're dead set on taking a picture at dinner, at least pretend you're playing with your blackberry or iphone and do it discreetly. I wouldn't, but that's up to you.
5. If you do not know the player's name, do not ask them for a picture or autograph. This is awkward.

Well, that's enough of my ramblings for tonight. I'll check back in tomorrow, hopefully in a better mood.