DO YOU FEEL THE LOVE? Rarely has there been a more emotional, multi-faceted U.S. Open. The National Tennis Center was named after Billie Jean King. Agassi and Navratilova retire. Roddick reaches the final with Jimbo at his side, only to fall short to Fed with Tiger by his side. ‘HI ANDREW, HERE’S YOUR VENTE SOY FRAPPUCCINO WITH EXTRA WHIP’: According to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review Journal, the baristas at the Trails Village Center Starbucks in Vegas think Agassi (who is known there as Andrew) is “just another guy with a nice car looking for a parking spot and a 16-ounce caffeine wake-up call.” “PLUS, SERBIA SPELLED BACKWARDS IS AIBRES AND JUSTINE IS FROM BELGIUM. SO IF YOU REMOVE THE ‘B’ THAT BECOMES ‘AIRES,’ AND EVERYONE KNOWS AIRES IS RETROGRADE IN SEPTEMBER”: Serbian Jelena Jankovic, whose game collapsed when she came within two games of reaching the final, blamed the loss on the wind, the umpire, a lapse in her concentration, a double fault, and Justine Henin-Hardenne, who “was acting like she had pain in her back and was trying to start me thinking. She was, ‘Oh, I have pain in my back...[when] she was losing. Then when she was winning, all of a sudden she’s hitting the biggest serves ever. I’m like, now your back doesn’t hurt.” GO FIGURE: Federer’s main rivals are a retired legend (Sampras), a golfer (Tiger) and something called history...Asked about a turning point in his career, Federer said, “I had to smash a racket in Hamburg and then I woke up.”…Federer’s three-year run is the best in modern history…Venus appeared in two U.S. Open presentation ceremonies, but no matches...Andy Murray’s mentor, Brad Gilbert, and Roddick-guide, Jimmy Connors, have shown what impact coaches can have on players. Yet Federer only has an occasional coaching relationship with Tony Roche...There are six Chinese women in the top 100. The top-ranked Chinese man is ranked No. 485...Federer is 103-4 in Grand Slams when he wins the first set. (He’s 9-17 when he doesn’t.)... Ultimately, we may remember Agassi as much for his losses as his wins: His ‘95 and ‘02 losses to Pete, his defeat in the ‘05 U.S. Open final to Federer, his final loss to Benjamin Becker, and of course, the loss of his hair...James Blake is the closest thing metro New York has to an elite-level champion since Johnny Mac...Martina Navratilova was pals with the late Katherine Hepburn. Sharapova is enamored with Audrey Hepburn…(By the way, Mary Carillo said, “I don’t remember Audrey Hepburn grunting through Roman Holiday”)...Serena said her goal is to have a slightly [our emphasis] better ranking. She’s now No. 91...Tennis photos were on the front page of the New York Times four times in 11 days...John McEnroe noted that we now have stringers who are millionaires...If things don’t improve physically for Agassi so he can do the “normal things” in life, he may have to get surgery. At least for now he is not limping anymore…Roger Federer is 9-1 in Slam Finals and has reached 12 finals in the 13 tournaments he’s played this year…At the Open, Tiger Woods was the man who most intimidated Roger. THE ANDY-MARIA CONNECTION?: Roddick and Sharapova have been spotted in trendy spots from Santa Barbara to Manhattan. Still, Roddick was dismissive, saying, “We’re not dating. I’ve said it a million times already, but you guys refuse to write it. Um, you know, we’re friendly. We’re in the same places. She’s a great girl. We’ll talk. That’s about it. She’s actually busier that I am… I think she’s great. I can’t say enough nice things about her.” CURIOUS DIALOGUES: RODDICK DIVISION Reporter: You credited your win [over Hewitt] to a different way of playing. How was it different? Roddick: You guys are the analysts. You tell me. Reporter: You’re the player. We’d like to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Roddick: That’s alright. Go buy a horse. Reporter: I’m a reporter. I can’t afford a horse. Roddick reported that during a three-day visit to his Austin home, Jimmy Connors stayed in an upstairs bedroom. A reporter then asked, “Did you ever just sit there and think, 'Jimmy Connors is in my upstairs bedroom?” Roddick replied, “Wow. I mean that question is about a 70-mile-an-hour fastball, huh? I had never really thought much about Jimmy Connors in my upstairs bedroom.”

A ‘WHEELY’ INTERESTING RODDICK PERSPECTIVE: Roddick noted, “When I was coming up, it was Andre and Pete. Then it was [just] Andre. Now it’s us, and we have to step it up. That cushion isn’t there. My training wheels are gone.”

THE DEER HUNTER?: Andy Roddick, who was torn about a possible matchup against Agassi, said, “You want to play against your idols, but you don’t want to be the guy who shot Bambi.”

JUST KIDDING (WE THINK): When asked why he went to the Bollettieri Academy as a kid, Tommy Haas shot back, “My parents hated me, so they sent me away”...When asked what he told Agassi as they shook hands after their epic first-round battle, Pavel said he told Agassi to “piss off.”...Federer quipped, “There’s not much to do in New York City.”

KATIE COURIC: I KICKED CRONKITE’S BUTT
INSIDE TENNIS: If you could interview one of the men’s players, who would it be?
KATIE COURIC: Right now, Agassi, because I respect him so much and all he’s done off the court. I’d love to talk to him about his commitment to underserved and underprivileged kids in Las Vegas.
IT: And how he’s transformed
himself?
KC: Not only that, but how he’s transformed so many other lives. How he’s used his position to really give back to the community. That’s incredibly impressive.
IT: And of the women, is there one you would...
KC: Chris Evert has always been my favorite. She’s about my age, and I always just had a lot of respect for her. She’s a great person and a great player.
IT: What do you love most about the Open?
KC: It’s a fun New York event.
IT: Do you ever get out there and play tennis?
KC: I actually got out there and hit with Walter Cronkite a few times. I kicked his butt.

HERE'S DA LAW: The rulebook on coaching reads, “Players shall not receive coaching during a match…Communication of any kind, audible or visible, between a player and a coach may be construed as coaching.”

THE JOYS AND TRIBULATIONS OF BEING A TENNIS PARENT: Agassi’s father, Mike, suggested his son call it a day after his momentous but trying five-set triumph over Marcos Baghdatis. Agassi vehemently disagreed and said he didn’t come to New York to quit...Andy Murray’s mom, Judy, said when you are a tennis parent, “you are the taxi driver, money lender and laundry maid.”

SAY IT ISN’T SO: No. 1-ranked Amelie Mauresmo was bageled (losing a set 6-0) in three different sets...Brad Gilbert is off to the Ukraine to help coach the British Davis Cup team...There was far more rain this year at the Open than at perennially moist Wimbledon...There was one session that was so boring that the highlight of the day was the playing of the Stones’ “Jumping Jack Flash” on the booming Ashe Stadium amps...A hardened British journalist was spotted strolling down a row of the press room singing, “I feel pretty”... Before cutting to an interview with rookie pro Sam Querrey, Al Trautwig quipped, “Querrey — that’s a good question.”...Fans repeatedly cheered a ball girl during a late-night match, so they replaced her with another ball boy...”Then,” noted Lleyton Hewitt, “they started booing the other bloke. He was pretty shattered.”

LIKE TWO SHIPS PASSING IN THE SEA: When there’s a Mets game at the same time as a U.S. Open night session, you can spot the curious social phenomenon of two quite different sports clans passing by each other. It’s hard to miss that burly stream of boisterous blue collar Mets fans with their generous beer bellies and funky blue caps headed to Shea who (as they pass by the incoming yuppie crowd of styling U.S. Open fans in their high heels and Armani jackets) offer ever-so-slight glances of class disdain.

FITNESS TIP OF THE MONTH: Reflecting on 75-year-old Nick Bollettieri, Jim Courier quipped, “If you are working on your eighth marriage, you better be fit.”

CURIOUS QUESTIONS: “What was it like as you left the court for the final time? Was it emotional?” — to Agassi after his gut-wrenching final match

“Mikhail, was there a real zippiness, aliveness and placement to your shots?” — to Mikhail Youzhny

THERE’S GOT TO BE A WAY: There were plenty of conversations on how to concoct ways of beating Federer. Jim Courier said he would bully his forehand into Roger’s backhand and serve him wide and get him on the run. John McEnroe claimed serve-and-volley guys like Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter and himself would have the best chance. Andy Murray, who beat Fed in Cincy, said the way was “not to overplay, but just stay solid.” Our favorite theory was to deny Federer his creativity and bore him to death by hitting to one spot. Then we heard Bill Dwyre’s idea, “Tennis…needs to redo its game. It needs to separate singles titles for men, women and martians with four legs and three legs” in order to take on Federer.

IN 100 WORDS OR LESS: Just after being downed by Federer at the Open, IT asked James Blake, “If there were an essay question at Harvard that asked, in 100 words or less, what makes Roger Federer so good, what would you say?” Blake, one of the brighter players on tour, offered this 109 word answer. “There’s just too many things he does well. He doesn’t panic. He plays offense unbelievably well. He plays defense better than anyone I’ve ever played. He makes so many gets, and when he gets to it, he doesn’t just put it back; he puts it where it’s difficult for you to hit the next shot. Volleys well. Serves well. Handled the pressure of being No. 1 in the world and the pressure of a crowd tonight that was clearly on my side. He obviously puts pressure on himself to succeed. He’s got the biggest forehand in the game that seems to be able to create pace out of nothing. Is that 100 words or less? I could keep going.”

HEY PETE, WE STILL LUV YOU: What’s in Sampras’ head after his World TeamTennis fizzled and then his ace rival was showered with adoration as he exited the game. Plus, Agassi offered this comparison of his and Pete’s retirements: “It’s one thing to win a title and then to decide, hey, that was great, I’m not playing anymore,” Andre noted. “It’s another thing to say, okay, that’s my shot over there, that’s what I’m going to do for the next few months...What Pete did is incredible. [But] for me, it was never about winning and stopping. It was always about getting the most out of myself for as long as possible because I felt like there was a lot of benefit to the work I was putting in, not just for my life and my experiences, but also for my foundation and for tennis. That’s an entirely different approach from winning and saying, ‘no more.’

OPEN COMMENTARIES CAN’T GET TOO MUCH MORE ‘ROUGHAGE’ THAN THIS: George Vescey said the second week at the Open is usually like “a nouvelle cuisine main course of a single tidbit of protein nestled amidst the roughage,” but that this year proved an exception.

“OH NO, STUCK IN CINCY”: Marat Safin on southern Ohio’s great town: “For me, being alone in Cincinnati — have you been there? So just go there and see how depressing is that place.”

DON’T STAND BY YOUR MAN: Jeff Tarango’s French wife Benedicte provided tennis’s highest profile (albeit violent) stand-by-your-man moment when she slapped an ump at Wimbledon in ‘95 after he had disqualified her hubby. Now Jeff and Benedicte have divorced.

WITHER AMERICAN SPORTS DOMINANCE?: Just hours after Agassi beat semi-Greek Marcos Baghdatis, America lost to Greece in the World Basketball Championships. Harvey Araton noted that “in the global arena, where borders have fallen like Yanks in the tennis rankings...[it’s been] Agassi and agony in a year when the U.S. has again been internationally jumbled on the hardwood, the soccer pitch, the Olympic hockey rink and in the World Baseball Classic.”

BEST T-SHIRTS: “I Feel Pretty. I Grunt.” “Be Reasonable. Do It My Way.” “My Parents Went to India and Got Enlightened and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.”

PMAC AND THE DONALD: Pat McEnroe compared himself to Donald Trump, saying, “Even before we were born, our fathers were working real estate deals. We both married beautiful women. We both became new fathers this year...We both have trouble keeping our hair off our foreheads, and as Davis Cup captain, I’ve had to look some of the greatest players in the eye and say, ‘You’re fired.’...But he’s a billionaire, and I’m a ‘thousandaire.’”

DON’T BE CRUEL TO A HEART THAT’S TRUE: One blogger suggested that the USTA name its food court after Serena.

THE DISGRACE OF KATRINA?: Serena, who with her sister will be staging a fund-raiser in New Orleans on December 7th, was critical of the government’s response. “There hasn’t been enough effort and rebuilding,” said Williams, whose family came from Louisiana. “It’s really sad, a disgrace. It’s horrible.”

HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED: It used to be that America’s young hot shots spoke of winning the U.S. Open. Now they say they are happy if they win a set (Donald Young) or a match (Sam Querrey). Well, at least they are being honest and realistic.

WHITE MEN [AND WOMEN] CAN’T JUMP: Billie Jean King quipped, “I can’t even jump anymore. I can’t even get an American Express card under my foot.”

BEDFELLOWS?: Roddick fell out of bed in Cincy...Davenport fell out of bed at her home and suffered a concussion and whiplash.

THE NUMBERS
$500,000 - Sum forfeited by Davenport in ‘05 in order to have a more flexible WTA Tour schedule
38 - Number of “slambonis” that dry courts at the U.S. Open
$18,000 - Cost for each of the USTA’s “slambonis”
$80-$100 million - Estimated cost for putting a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium
$40 million - Estimated cost to “roof” the Armstrong or Grandstand stadiums.
$15 million - The increase in USTA revenue since Arlen Kantarian came on board as the USTA’s chief marketing whiz.

NUMBER 9: James Blake is 0-9 in five-set matches. Thomas Berdych is 9-0. Still, Blake beat the Czech (in straight sets).

SPEAKING OF THAT PRICKLY 0-9 STAT: After John McEnroe recalled that all three players he coached — Boris Becker, Mark Philippoussis and Sergei Brugera — didn’t listen to him, he added that “I’ve got six kids who don’t listen either, so that makes me 0-9.”

WHAT A DAY: Just a few hours after shocking No. 2-seeded Rafa Nadal, Russian Mikhail Youzhny joined with Leos Friedl to down the No. 1-seeded Bryan brothers.

MAKES SENSE: Benjamin Becker says that at tourneys, if he’s NOT asked if he is related to Boris Becker, he thinks something is wrong.

SPADEA’S BOOK REVERBERATES THROUGH LOCKER ROOM
Vince Spadea’s tell-all book Breaking Point, which chronicles life on tour, does not paint such a flattering picture of James Blake, who asserted that what’s said in the locker room should stay there. “If you want to tell your story,” the widely popular Blake contended, “tell anything that’s happened in your life...But I would never bring other guys into it without their approval.”
But the quirky Spadea maintained the book expressed how he was surprised by Blake’s mannerisms and said that “overall, I mentioned that he’s done a lot of great things. Naturally, the people who I slightly exposed, in a mildly controversial manner, it’s not something incriminating, but we want to know who these people are.”
Dmitry Tursunov, asserted that “any initiative to get all that stuff across to fans is a good idea. Not everyone has the same opinion. I welcome pretty much everything that goes out into public as long as it’s not your private life...That book is probably going to do more good than damage.”

GENEROSITY RUNS IN THE FAMILY: When Agassi’s brother Phil heard that two Argentines had come 6,300 miles to see Andre retire, but then due to rain delays would not be able to, he gave them tickets for Andre’s finale.

BY THE WAY: In a couple of weeks, former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna will become an American citizen.

THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION: Brad Gilbert and Don Budge, who was just inducted into the U.S. Open Court of Champions, are arguably the two best players in Northern California tennis history. Both have an Oakland connection. Budge’s parents came from Scotland to the Northern California city, while Gilbert, who was born in the Piedmont section of Oaktown, is now coaching Andy Murray, the foremost player in Scottish history.

NOT SO GREAT DANE: Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, the No. 2-seeded junior, was in control of her first-round match against Alexandra Panova 6-4, 2-1 when she went into an obscenity-laced tirade and was disqualified.

A TYPICAL AUSSIE BLOKE: Lleyton Hewitt, who met Steve Irwin a couple of times, was stunned by the death of the Crocodile Hunter. “You sort of can’t get around your head that he’s gone. He was such a happy-go-lucky guy...[Australian Prime Minister] John Howard invited me and Steve to go to Parliament and listen to President George W. Bush speak. I had a couple great chats with Steve. He was great, a typical Aussie bloke. He wasn’t show. He wore his khaki clothes to lunch when he met the president. That’s him.”

MEDIA HERO OF THE OPEN: After Agassi’s last match, instead of doing a postmatch interview with him, Mary Joe Fernandez just handed him the mike.

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