The Outer Courts Brings The Australian Open to You!

Hello my fellow tennis fans! I hope you have enjoyed the offseason layoff and are ready for a new year of tennis action here at The Outer Courts. It has been a long time since we last saw many of you, and you have likely wondered when we would return to update the site and allow you to read something other than the post on perspective of line judges (admittedly, not the most exciting way to end our last year). But we are now energized and ready to come back on tour with all of our favorite tennis personalities. But first,  we must be honest with you. Your favorite Kentucky bloggers (I say that assuming you don't know a ton of Kentucky bloggers) have been following the worlds of college football and basketball lately (here's an update...UK football had an awful season, Kentucky basketball is pretty good once again and Louisville has hired a serial adulterer for every one of its college sports teams). Thus we are hitting the 2014 Tennis Season in a way that is likely very similar to how you are approaching a new year. Even though there have been a number of early tournaments, we haven't paid much attention until the Australian Open. Yes, I know there were early events and Juan Del Handsome, John Isner and 62 year old Lleyton Hewitt got early titles, but my interest really had yet to be piqued. The other early tournaments are essentially only played in America for tennis diehards, melancholy insomniacs or those knee-deep in a mid-life crisis with little to do in their lonely new apartment communities except watch any television event overnight that is not an informercial rerun. For the rest of us, our lives are more fulfilled and tennis starts under the scorching sun in Melbourne with tennis' first and least-loved major.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Australian Open precisely because it is the red-headed stepchild of the Tennis major championships. Like the PGA Championship in Golf, the Preakness in Horse Racing and the Brickyard 400 in NASCAR, we are told that the Australian Open is equal to the other major championships in its sport, but as Americans, we don't really believe it. The French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open all have the special qualities that make them seem exotic, dignified or patriotic, but Australia is for most of us just a country to allow us to use funny accents and make terrible jokes. Even as a passionate tennis fan, you would be hard pressed to include more than one Australian Open moment in your top ten tennis memories of all time, and chances are you can't remember one thing that happened in the tournament last year except Sloane Stephens. In America, the Australian Open is in a no-win part of the sports calendar, deep in the NFL playoffs, with college and pro basketball hitting their full stride and the weather outside so cold that watching people sweat across the globe seems a bit bizarre. But that is unfortunate, because the Australian Open provides some of the best tennis television of the year. Whether it is the unbelievably passionate crowds that attend, the occasional epic matches that take on a life of their own under the sun or even Chris Fowler on ESPN sharing smirky, inside jokes that only tennis fans would understand (because he knows no one else is watching at 4 am), I find the televised coverage of Australia to be one of my favorite parts of the tennis year.

And with that in mind, we are covering the Australian Open in a different manner than the other Outer Courts tournaments, at home from our couches. Now you could suggest that in actuality we are doing this because it is the heart of college basketball season, Australia is very far away and Tennis Channel wasn't thrilled of the idea of Drew and me racking up an expense account down under (we draw up quite a budget of official tournament pullovers), but I would say that regardless of the truth of those statements, the different perspective is still valued. Since nearly all of our readers here will be watching the event in the exact same manner, why not share the collective "dose in and out of sleep while eating cheetos" Australian Open experience together? Thus Drew and I will cover the event in a way that other tennis reporters could only dream, from the heart of Kentucky, giving you the stories that matter to you the home viewer.

With that in mind, it is important to note how you can watch the event. Here is the television schedule for the first four days of the Australian Open:

SUNDAY:          7 pm - 7 am   First Round Coverage   ESPN2

MONDAY:         7 pm - 9 pm  First Round Coverage   Tennis Channel

                             9 pm - 7 am  First Round Coverage    ESPN2

TUESDAY:        7 pm - 9 pm  Second Round Coverage  Tennis Channel

                             9 pm - 7 am   Second Round Coverage   ESPN2

WEDNESDAY: 7 pm - 9 pm  Second Round Coverage  Tennis Channel

                             9 pm - 7 am   Second Round Coverage   ESPN2

Clearly, over the next four days, you can become immersed in the Australian Open in ways that you never deemed imaginable. For many of you reading this site, such in-depth coverage of an event may not be normal. Staying up in the middle of the night and ignoring your families to watch players you don't know sweat under intense heat (when they aren't being wimpy and playing under a roof) might not be something that you have ever previously considered. So you probably are thinking, how should I attack this endeavor?  Well first let me suggest, why don't you make a bracket with Tennis Channel and have your own picks?  You can find my men's bracket here and from there, you can make your own. Now I will be quite honest, I have no idea who will win most of these matches and many of my picks were made on the, "if I had to hang out with a person with one of these two names, who would I go with." By taking my usual, "the more interesting the name, the more interesting the person" mantra to heart, I picked a group of players who possibly have more letters than skills, but who I will have no problems pulling for over the next two weeks.

So sit back, relax and enjoy The Outer Courts' coverage. We will bring you whatever there is to know about the Australian Open that can be known by watching television. I have the DirectTV package so I can see six matches at once, so I will keep you updated on the doings on the Outer Courts, Drew will bring the jokes/photoshops and we both will make fun of anything and everything that pops up on our television screen. This is our time as tennis fans to revel in the enjoyment of something the rest of the sports world can't understand. It is the Australian Open and let those other meatheads have football, basketball, the Golden Globes and American Idol. We have Australian tennis while we are supposed to be sleeping and that my friends, is why we are better! We hope you enjoy the ride.

Calling the Lines

A time honored tradition in every sport, there is nothing more American than blasting a referee. Go to any game of any sport in America and I guarantee that there will be a loud minority of people yelling at whoever is officiating the game. This culture of complaint is not limited to professional or even college games (where the relative anonymity of the crowd makes it easier to scream, but arguably less effective). Simply show up at a youth event anywhere across our land and some parent (or grandparent) will be acting a fool, cursing a person that probably lives down the street for them (and from whom they may buy groceries, get their car repaired or break bed in church) over something as silly as a double dribble call. We often feel that the normal rules of society, treat others the way you would be treated, be respectful and don't call people four letter words/private body parts while screaming and pointing, simply do not apply in the context of sports. It is an unalienable American right.

However in the world of tennis, the level of officiating criticism takes on another level. Fans (and players) at tennis matches believe that the lines people are consistently making mistakes and often intentionally. I have watched at least part of over 30 matches over the course of this tournament and I have seen a player openly question a line person's call in every single one. The reaction from the crowd is even more harsh. Any shot on a show court that is even close to the line leads to a loud murmur from the crowd suggesting disagreement for whatever the decision is, whether in or out. I often want to ask those in the crowd, especially those sitting at the top of Arthur Ashe Stadium, do you really believe that you, sitting potentially 100 feet above the court, can somehow see it better than the individual seated with her focused on the line and the line only?  Their confidence is impressive, even if their rationality is not.

With this in mind, I sat directly on the line for today's David Ferrer-Richard Gasquet match, only a couple of feet behind the lines judge in the photographer's pit. My goal was simple...to determine just how hard it is to call out/in during a major male tennis match. The answer...it can be unbelievably difficult to judge the closest of close calls. Part of this has to do with the angle of the view. While there likely isn't a better option (having the linesman float directly over the court seems impractical), the side view tends to distort the proceedings a bit. With the glare of the sun (or lights at night), the white of the line can blur a bit, causing the most important feature (the actual spot the line ends) to bleed somewhat. I think this is in part why people suggest lines people tend to "err on the side of in." Whether conscious or not, the line looks bigger the more you stare at it with a glare.

Then there is the problem of the speed. With the lines people staring directly at the line, the ball's speed and arc can appear suddenly, and be tough to pinpoint. Unless you have laser-like focus, this can occasionally sneak up on you and cause a person problems while finding the exact spot of contact. Because of the crazy angles that can now be hit by the top players (thanks to the modern strings), even following the arc of the ball (and using that to surmise the landing point) can be difficult. There there is the problem that makes me believe that even Hawkeye is occasionally wrong...the ball is round and figuring out exactly what part of the ball hit what part of the line is an inexact science, perfected only by ants on the ground. To do so at tremendous speed becomes even more difficult.

With all that said however, after spending a match observing them, I believe the lines people do about as good a job as possible. On the challenged calls in this tournament (which are presumably the closest of the close calls), the decision has been reversed only 28% of the time. That is a fairly solid success record, and one thats error rare would probably be acceptable even without Hawkeye (miss on average 3-6 calls a match and can you really complain? It is certainly a better rate than officiating in other sports). After trying to recreate their job for a set, I have even more respect for what they do. Some calls are too close for anyone and on those, everyone will make mistakes. But the lines people generally do their job as well as it can be done (with the problems above hindering) and are certainly better suited to make the calls than the players focused on returning the shots or the drunk fans far up in the crowd above them. As I often say about the people who are on television commentating, a doctor preforming surgery or someone cutting my hair...they aren't perfect, but they are probably better than you.

A young Rafael Nadal with a young Richard Gasquet

Richard Gasquet is in his first US Open semifinal and Rafael Nadal is one win away from meeting him there. Gasquet, the first Frenchman to reach the Open semis in 22 years, has never won against Nadal on the ATP tour, but he has one win over Nadal from a junior tennis tournament in France when they were 13 years old.

Enjoy.

Rafael Nadal practicing on Ashe between sessions

I caught Rafael Nadal practicing with Christian Garin between sessions today, while the fans were out buying up what's left of the merchandise and Moet. The 2013 French Open mens' champion and 2013 French Open boys' champion smacked the ball around on Arthur Ashe, where Nadal will face Tommy Robredo in the final match of the night.

After sitting across from Nadal, directly behind Garin, I can say with 100% confidence that I wouldn't come close to returning anything Nadal sent my way. Not a prayer.

Good luck with that tonight, Tommy.

An EXCLUSIVE look inside The Outer Courts' US Open office

The photo above was taken in the US Open's media center, where the working media folk gather to provide tennis fans all the information they can handle through their various media outlets. Hundreds of scribes work tirelessly around the clock, from sun up to sun down, to keep the world informed of all the happenings in Flushing Meadows throughout the entire tournament. It's like the brain of Arthur Ashe Stadium; a really big brain with high-water khaki pants, wrinkled floral print shirts, and an appetite for free donuts in the morning and free donuts left over from the morning at night.

That's not where we are.

The Outer Courts has its own office at the 2013 US Open, far away from judgmental stares and black coffee farts. We are in the cafeteria on a first-come, first-serve seating policy. Some call it an inconvenience; we call it home.

Take a walk with me into an area few have seen, unless they walk by on their way to the hot bar.

You're looking at my desk here at The Outer Courts' office. Though it's not the television-equipped desk of the media room, the Evian water bottle and Ben & Jerry's ice cream sandwich wrapper add to the ambience.

Yes, that's a Tennis Channel logo on my backpack.

This is my view: a direct shot (when people aren't walking by with beer) of practice courts P1 through P5. That's five courts in viewing distance without leaving my seat. It's so hard not to be spoiled.

As you can see, window seats are hard to come by. Especially one with a few of the TV if I lean back really far.

Check out the bar in the back corner. The media room may have lockers, statistics, reliable WiFi, interview areas and power outlets at every desk, but the media room doesn't have its own bar with FREE alcohol. 

But The Outer Courts' office does.

Note: The free alcohol is only available to "M" credentials, which is everyone from the media room. We aren't allowed to partake.

Look! Condiments! Plasticware! US Open beverage napkins!

Just a few complimentary items we offer to our visitors. Take one. Take two. Take a handful. They're here for you, just as we're here for you at the 2013 US Open.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Enjoy your mayonnaise. 

Lleyton Hewitt Goes Down Under

Trust me, I didn't want to make the pun above in the title. If there is one drawback to being Australian (and there can't be many as their general life outlook, great weather and beautiful women suggest that living on the island is not a bad lifestyle), it is the fact that one can't have a conversation about anything Australian without making some sort of awful pun about the country. Some of this is due to our American need to run jokes into the ground. "Put another shrimp on the barbie," "Good day mate!", "Crocodile Dundee" and a host of other terrible Australian jokes are always brought up by Americans, usually in the worst accent imaginable. But the Aussies themselves are not entirely blameless either. One cannot go even five minutes around a group of Australians in public without them singing "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" or yelling "MATE!" at the top of their lungs. If we are all stereotypical at creating Jay Leno-level jokes about our Australian friends, the countrymen themselves at least bear some responsibility.

Nevertheless, I have always envied the Australian people. Whether it was during my childhood pulling for the eternal loser, Greg Norman, watching Joe Hachem win the World Series of Poker or sitting on Louis Armstrong Court trying to will Lleyton Hewitt to a "turn back the clock" victory. I have Aussie envy and it causes me to pull for them in whatever competition of which they find themselves a part. Thus on Tuesday, I sat in the sweltering heat watching what I knew was inevitable...a Lleyton Hewitt loss that would lead the worst tabloid headline writer to say, "Lleyton Blew-it."  With a chance to make the first Grand Slam Quarterfinal since 2006, Hewitt found a way to instead blow a 4-1 lead in the fourth set and a 5-2 lead in the fifth, losing five straight games in each and dropping the match to Mikhail "All You Want to Do is" Youzhny. Throughout the match, Youzhny was the better player, but Hewitt did just what my golfing hero Norman used to do as well...just enough to guarantee a painful defeat. His consistent returns and solid ground strokes, forced Youzhny to hit well-placed winners to get points. When he was unable to do so, Hewitt went on a roll. When he hit his stride and played Top 20 level tennis, Lleyton had no answer.

Throughout the match, Hewitt had opportunities to win big points, all by hitting shots that the top players can make in their sleep. A slight mishit by Youzhny would cause the ball to hang in the air just enough that a Top 20 player would slam it with enough pace to guarantee a point. But for Hewitt these opportunities were wasted, as he instead blocked back returns and guaranteed that the point would be won or lost on the racket of Youzhny. It is a style that does well against weaker players, but for the stretches of the match where Mikhail was dialed in (specifically the end of the 4th and 5th set), Hewitt was a dead man walking. The casual pace of the match (and the long rallies on each point) just seemed to string out the inevitable. Just like watching Greg Norman trudge through the back nine at Augusta in 1996, the fate was predetermined but the agony getting there was just more painful.

All in all it was a great run for Hewitt in Queens this week. But he may never have quite a chance like this again, after knocking out the powerful Del Potro and playing with caution instead of seizing his chances during crucial points. He will always have his Open Championship here to fall back on, but he will likely regret what might have been on this day and missing out a chance to get a shot at the #1 player in the world, Novak Djokovic, on Arthur Ashe Stadium one last time. At least he can take solace in his Australian fans, who reacted to the loss as only they would...by chanting "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,"hugging and chugging. It is the Australian way.

Nadal to see a familiar face Wednesday night

When Rafael Nadal takes the court tomorrow night for his quarterfinal match on Arthur Ashe, an old friend will be standing across from him -- and it's not Roger Federer, unfortunately.

No. 19 seed Tommy Robredo, the man responsible for Federer's dismissal from this year's Open, draws the seemingly impossible task of trying to upset Nadal to reach the semifinals. No one in the world is playing better than Nadal right now as he seeks his 20th consecutive hard court win this season, and part of Nadal's success in 2013 can be attributed to none other than Tommy Robredo, his fellow countryman, former doubles teammate, and next opponent.

2008 Monte Carlo Master champions

The two Spaniards trained together in Barcelona earlier this year prior to Nadal's first tournament back since Wimbledon in 2012. Little did they know at the time, they'd be facing each other in the US Open quarterfinals eight months later.

Robredo and Nadal in Barcelona

The friendship will be put aside for the day, at least for a couple hours at night, as they battle to advance to face either Richard Gasquet or David Ferrer, who is also from Spain, in the semifinals. The only other time Nadal and Robredo throw the camaraderie aside: when Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are playing football. Nadal is a big Real Madrid supporter; Robredo is a lifelong Barca fan. That means we have the "Clasico" of tennis at Arthur Ashe tomorrow night.

Watching Federer Lose is No Fun

I knew I had to take the 7 train and come to Queens. Sometimes you just know that something important is about to happen and you don't want to miss it. Even though rain had taken out most of the day and action was not to begin until past 5 pm, I was determined to make the trip and see the great Roger Federer play in person. If he lost (which seemed a longshot), I wanted to be there for one of his last appearances in Flushing. If he won, I hoped to see what I saw from Federer in Cincinnati, more improvement and continued movement to his shining self of old. There were difficulties on the travel (specifically a man was grabbed off of my subway car, two feet away from me, by four policemen who then told a woman in Spanish that he was being arrested for "going car by car in the subway, rubbing his genitalia on people"...thankfully I missed out), but when I arrived, Armstrong Stadium was my destination. With Roger Federer playing on the smaller court for the first time since 2006, I was there to make sure Federer did not lose to Tommy Robredo and the dream quarterfinal with Rafael Nadal would come to fruition.

Unfortunately, dreams do not always equal reality. I took my seat in the photographer's row next to the court (the best part of this entire experience...sitting in that position makes you realize the speed and athleticism of these players in a way that television does no justice) and hoped to see vintage Roger. Instead I saw what might be characterized as the worst Roger Federer Grand Slam match in a decade. Think about this for a minute. Federer's career record versus Robredo was a stunning 10-0, and he had only dropped three sets during that entire time period. On Monday night, Federer fell in three straight sets, thus doubling his career set losses to Robredo in just under 150 minutes. While the scoreline was painful (7-6, 6-3, 6-4), what was much worse was the domination of play. Robredo controlled the match from the outset, was the better player throughout and at all points was in control. If one dropped off of another planet and was told they were watching the greatest player to ever play the game, they would have certainly thought his name was "TAH-ME" (the ear-piercing scream by the one Robredo fan in the stadium, seated directly behind me) and not the great Federer.

What had begun as an exciting chance to watch greatness one more time instead became an act of sadness and depression. There is very little less fun than watching Roger Federer play poorly. A man who defined grace and elegance at his peak, tonight played like a struggling mid-50s ranked player, hoping to get a few breaks and sneak through with an upset. I don't like seeing highlights of Ali losing to Spinks and I don't like seeing Roger blow open shots against a Grand Slam journeyman. Federer's forehand completely deserted him, causing countless framed returns and at least four wide open put-aways blown with poor execution. The only thing resembling the Federer of old was the outfit, as Roger's attempted signature shots, from running one-handed backhands, to precise drop volleys routinely missed their targets and put Federer in poor positions. When Roger would hit minutes of the Federer of old, he would then follow it with faltering play, including a key game in the third set, where he went up 0-40 on Robredo's serve, only to lose five straight points, four with unforced errors.

One shouldn't take away anything from Robredo, who afterwards said he played one of the best matches of his life. But people did not come to Armstrong Stadium for a taste of Tommy R (well except possibly one woman sitting three rows up who, when Robredo took of his shirt at a break yelled, "Tommy, come home with me to Long Island and I will put some meat on those bones!"  I don't think he took her up on the offer). The crowd was here to see Roger as he continued to move towards his own form and hoped to set up a Thursday night for the ages. Instead what they saw was a depressing realization of the inevitability of age.  Federer is not yet Willie Mays chasing fly balls in centerfield with the Mets, but for the first time, "human Roger" is upon us. It is no longer just an elite player like Nadal, Djokovic or Murray who can take him out at the elite tournaments. Now he can lose to every Tommy, Dick or Harry that plays at an inspired level and catches him on the right day. Roger is mortal and that is depressing.

Will we see Federer vs. Nadal again?

Staring contest with Federer in Cincinnati

We were blessed with an incredible match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals in Cincinnati last month, one that reminded us of the old days, and now we're eyeing another potential quarterfinal showdown between the two here at the US Open.

This year's Open draw placed No. 7 seed Federer and second-seeded Nadal on the same side of the bracket yet again, on a crash course for a meeting in the round of 8, just like we saw at the Western & Southern Open. They have both done their part in staying alive thus far, and tonight, they'll each play to set up their 32nd head-to-head meeting. 

Federer is up first with a match against Tommy Robredo in Armstrong, moved over from Arthur Ashe due to the rain delay. It will be Roger's first match on the Armstrong court since 2006. The line is ridiculously long to get in already.

Nadal's match against Philipp Kohlschreiber will get underway shortly in Ashe.

If both Federer and Nadal advance, their next match will mark the first time they've met in the US Open.

Give it to us.

Update:

Robredo is owning Federer.