http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/TennisLink/join

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Article from Newsday.com

--------------------
Return with mettle
--------------------

Dent, Fish came home from their Olympic experience with a renewed confidence and
focus that was evident in their first-round victories

BY ARTHUR STAPLE
STAFF WRITER

August 31, 2004

Plenty of the biggest names in men's tennis went to Athens in search of a medal,
but they ended up soaking in the Olympic atmosphere rather than participating in
a ceremony.

Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent went for the experience of being an Olympian. Fish
came within a set of a gold medal, and Dent came within a few points of a
bronze. Where their good friend and fellow American Olympian Andy Roddick, as
well as world No. 1 Roger Federer, may have viewed the tennis portion of the
Olympics as a distraction to their preparation for the U.S. Open, Fish and Dent
have come into Flushing Meadows with confidence that shone through in breezy
first-round wins for both yesterday.

"I've never had more confidence with my game," said Fish, the No. 26 seed, who
swept past David Ferrer, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. "I feel like I've finally figured out
how I need to play. I feel like I went over there and really found a game plan."

Fish roomed with Roddick in the athletes' village at the Olympics and the two
made some famous friends -- wrestler Rulon Gardner "told me the snowmobile story
four times, and he showed me his toe, and I didn't want to see it," Fish said.
But this was more than just a chance to take pictures and hang with guys like
Michael Phelps and his serious collection of hardware.

Fish had been in the midst of a very mediocre season -- he reached one final, in
Germany in June, and won one match between the Australian and Wimbledon,
dropping his career record in Grand Slams to an ugly 8-11 -- when the Olympics
came along. He plays Davis Cup whenever asked, and perhaps where the Olympic
tournament was not good timing for the big boys like Federer, who ousted Alberto
Costa, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4, in his first round match, it was perfect for the patriotic
Fish.

Fish said his serve was not on for much of the event, but he kept points short
against superior baseliners like Juan Carlos Ferrero and eventual bronze
medallist Fernando Gonzalez. In the gold-medal match, Fish went up two sets to
one on Chile's Nicolas Massu but could not close out the double gold-medal
winner. "A lot of people have been asking me, 'What would you rather do, win a
gold medal or a Grand Slam?'" Fish said. "I would prefer a gold medal around my
neck with the National Anthem playing. I think that would be the ultimate in
sports for me."

Yesterday, he was still not serving well (47 percent on first serves), but he
forced the pace and, as he did in Athens, came to the net often on Ferrer's
second serve.

Dent, the No. 21 seed, had an easier day, defeating fan favorite Younes El
Aynaoui, 6-1, 2-1, when El Aynaoui had to retire with a foot injury. Dent missed
out on a medal in Athens with a three-set loss to Gonzalez, 16-14 in the third
set. He still felt a big boost of confidence in his game after a similarly
mediocre season to Fish -- Dent reached the third round in Australia and at
Wimbledon, losing to Roddick both times, but hasn't reached a final this year.

"I think in that week [in Athens] I got back to where I was a year ago around
this time, when I wasn't really too concerned about how I was executing my game
. . . but just really focused mentally on the court," said the big-serving Dent,
who reached the fourth round here last year but had to retire with a hamstring
injury against Andre Agassi.

"If I shank one over the stadium, I don't let it bother me. If I take care of my
head first, then I think my game will follow."

Copyright (c) 2004, Newsday, Inc.

--------------------

This article originally appeared at:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/ny-spday0831,0,1327925.story?coll=ny-tennis\
-headlines

Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com

Wow. What a match
El Aynaoui was injured, even at the start. Dent flew through in the
first set 6-1 where Younes retired early in the 2nd.
Dent's game was pretty solid, if he keeps this form he should go
pretty far. However his roadblock will be Federer - Dent will have
to work pretty hard for that match.

TD wants you to see this article from www.chicagosportsreview.com, at
http://chicagosportsreview.com/chicago/chicagoview.asp?c=120829

In Athens, During Olympics, Tennis at its Best

I've lamented many times how I long for better times in tennis, and
this Olympic tournament gave me just that. If only men's and women's
tennis could sustain such a great level of play, with such incredible
drama, on a regular basis.

Read more...
http://chicagosportsreview.com/chicago/chicagoview.asp?c=120829

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE WAS ALSO ATTACHED:
(Hear hear!)

Forwarded by TD, tennisdearthegreat@....

-------------------------

Ninth seed withdraws from RCAs

Ninth-seeded Taylor Dent became the RCA Championships' third seed and fifth
player to withdraw because of illness or injury since the draw was made last
Friday night.

To read the full story, click on the link below, or copy and paste it into your
Web browser: http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/164137-7730-102.html

-------------------------

If you have problems accessing this story, please let us know at
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Forwarded by TD, tennisdearthegreat@....

-------------------------

Roddick needs company from U.S. peers

During periods when men's tennis has reached its popularity peak in the United
States, it has been spurred by rivalries between Americans.

To read the full story, click on the link below, or copy and paste it into your
Web browser: http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/163383-6613-036.html

-------------------------

If you have problems accessing this story, please let us know at
http://www.indystar.com/help/contact/contact_us.html.

Hi Talkin' Taylor!

Article

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2004/July/18/sport/stories/01sport.htm

Regards,

TD

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  July 18, 2004

  APTOS - Tucked away in a corner of the second level of Seascape Sports Club is
a small shrine to the tennis greats who have walked through the doors and helped
put the little beach town place on the map.

  Michael Chang. Patrick Rafter. James Blake. Jan-Michael Gambill. Vince Spadea.
Taylor Dent. Mardy Fish. Robbie Ginepri. Bob and Mike Bryan. The list goes on.

  Photos of each, nearly small enough to fit in one's wallet, appear on a wall,
listing some of their accomplishments. It's a modest assembly.

  Every summer since 1988, the game's up-and-comers come to play the cement
courts in the $50,000 Seascape Challenger, the longest running challenger in the
U.S.

  Chang, one of the event's most recognizable former entrants played Seascape
three times, but all in the twilight of his career, well removed from French
Open win as a teenager in 1989.

  This is a tournament of the future.

  After Seascape, Rafter claimed U.S. Open singles titles in 1997 and '98, and
the Bryan brothers, who gained notoriety at Stanford University, went on to win
the 2003 French Open doubles title.

  Those close to the event are quick to point out, they haven't heard the last of
the Seascape Challenger alums. Seven of the top-10 ranked Americans, and 17 of
the top 20 played in the event, which serves in part as a tune-up for the U.S.
Open, a hard-court event.

  "Some people came up to me and said this year's draw is lacking the big names,"
Seascape tennis pro Rick Kepler said. "Yeah, well, in a few years you never
know."

  Kepler should save his breath, and point people to the shrine.

  How many of these guys were household names when they played here?

  It seems, there are hundreds of challengers every year.

  Is the Seascape Challenger really so special?

  "Yes," said Keith Crossland, a USTA tournament supervisor for the past 15
years.

  Crossland travels across the country to run events like Seascape's, and said he
sees a difference and he sees why this event has helped lure some of the game's
future greats.

  "There are a lot of things that make this tournament a good one," Crossland
said. "The venue, the location, the timing of this tournament to the Mercedes
(in Los Angeles), the host families. There is a conglomeration of players out
there who talk with each other and will say this is a good place to be."

  Seascape's sunken centre court, surrounded by less than eight rows of wooden
bleachers, is intimate. Few venues allow spectators to be so close the action.

  "At these courts, you'll see some of the same guys who in eight weeks will be
on Centre Court at the U.S. Open, because they're taking on someone like (Andre)
Agassi," Crossland said. "And people can say, 'Yep. I was just across the fence
from them.' "

  The Seascape Challenger awards 50 ATP points to the singles winner. For a
player in the top 100, that isn't much. But for the recent college grad or newly
turned pro, it's an opportunity to rise through the rankings.

  "If a player is ranked 150th, they might go to No. 145," Crossland said. "But
let's say a guy is around No. 450, he might jump to No. 350."

  It's a chance for some big moves, and an opportunity to build a reputation.

  But that's not always the case. This year's likely top-seed, Israel's Harel
Levy, is currently ranked No. 130 and is well known. At one point, Levy ranked
was in the top 30 in the world. He is recovering from a hip injury.

  Challenger tennis is likened to Triple-A baseball, the highest level in the
minor leagues before reaching the majors.

  Some guys, like Chang and even Agassi, have used Challengers when coming back
from injury or to get their games back on track.

  Two challenger events helped rejuvenate Agassi's career a few years back. For
the most part, challengers are for the up-and-comers, which means players who
don't have a lot of money.

  There are challengers that offer hotel accommodations to players at no cost,
and those events usually mean more points, because the free housing figures into
the total purse.

  Most players go from event to event, and usually by car.

  Seascape's tennis fraternity does everything to make the player's stay a
memorable one.

  All the players are given the opportunity to stay with host families.

  "They're kind of your family for a week," said Debbie Humphreys, who has been
hosting players for five years. "They're on the road so much. And so you just
want to make them feel welcome and special."

  Last year, Humphreys hosted American Jeff Salzenstein, who went on to claim his
second Seascape title in three years.

  "Jeff was such a good volleyer," said Humphreys, who has three children,
including two daughters. "So I would leave notes on his door. 'I love your
volleys. Do it today!' And we gave him hugs."

  Even in the span of a week, strong bonds are formed between players and host
families.

  One evening, Salzenstein took a liking to Humphreys' grandson's gaudy, green
dragon slippers.

  Humphreys said, "He asked, 'If I win, can I wear these on Centre Court?'"

  He did and he did.

  "He was out there in the slippers dancing around," Humphreys said. "It was so
cute."

  The two stay in contact.

  In fact, days removed from his win last year, Salzenstein called to see if his
victory was good enough to get him in the local paper.

  Humphreys has pictures of Salzenstein and Kevin Kim alongside pictures of the
rest of her family.

  Charlotte and Foster Mahood have housed players since the event started, but
memories of 2002 Seascape champion Brian Vahaly still holds a soft spot in their
hearts. It was Vahaly's first professional win.

  "He's like a son," said Charlotte, noting they still stay in touch. "We watched
him win that tournament, and it became real personal. And we didn't know him
before that."

  It was a memorable week for both parties.

  And when it was time to say good-bye, Foster noticed Vahaly forgot to pack all
his goods as he got in his car.

  "He left his trophy in the dining room," Foster said. "I brought it out to him,
and the next thing I know, he says, 'I know, I want you to have this.'

  "It was his first challenger win, his first pro win, his biggest paycheck.
You'd think he want (his trophy) for posterity."

  No, this tournament's all about the memories, simple and sweet like the shrine
on the second floor.

jseimas@....

Copyright (c) Santa Cruz Sentinel. All rights reserved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/departments/subform.html

Forwarded by TD, tennisdearthegreat@....

-------------------------

Serving up some power

When home runs were leaving major-league ballparks at alarming numbers in recent
years, the focus turned to an alleged juiced up baseball.

To read the full story, click on the link below, or copy and paste it into your
Web browser: http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/163544-6111-036.html

-------------------------

If you have problems accessing this story, please let us know at
http://www.indystar.com/help/contact/contact_us.html.

This story was sent to you by: TD

--------------------
Dent Looks Ahead After Quick Exit
--------------------

By Lauren Peterson
Times Staff Writer

July 14 2004

After losing to Greg Rusedski in the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup
tournament Tuesday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, Taylor Dent of Newport
Beach will have to look forward to other events this summer.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-tennisnotes14jul14,1,2389350.story?coll=la-h\
eadlines-sports

Visit Latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

You have received this ESPN.com mail from:

TD
tennisdearthegreat@...

The "Washington: Perfect change of pace for Americans" story is located at
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/columns/story?columnist=washington_maliv\
ai&id=1838880

I thought you might find this story interesting.
TD

ESPN SportsFlash - Customized Headlines and Scores sent daily.
ESPN.com's daily headlines can be delivered to you each day by subscribing to
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This story was sent to you by: TD

--------------------
He Tries to Dent the Elite
--------------------

Big-serving 23-year-old searches for consistency that will make him a Grand Slam
contender.

By Peter Yoon
Times Staff Writer

July 12 2004

In a television commercial currently airing, Taylor Dent strolls onto the court
not quite knowing what he's getting into.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-tennis12jul12,1,7250604.story?coll=\
la-headlines-sports-olympics

Visit Latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

Hi! Well, I think there should be more sites dedicated for Taylor.
And thanks for the nice welcome to the group. I am planning on going
to Indy and hoping to go to the Masters in Texas, since it won't be
there next year. We'll see! How about you?

--- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, "tennisdear"
<tennisdearthegreat@h...> wrote:
> Hey Ames, nice to hear from you! I think this was the first place on
> the net for Taylor ever. History, folks! Anyway, glad you joined,
> planning on attending any events this summer?
>
> --- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, amsc2153 <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > Hi! New here - thought I'd say hi. Not many web sites or groups
out
> > there for Taylor. Nice to see one around. Best of luck to him
rest of
> > the season!
> > Take care!
> > -Ames
> >
> > --- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, "tennisdear"
> > <tennisdearthegreat@h...> wrote:
> > > Just saw that a bunch of new folks have joined up this week --
come
> > > out and say hi! We're a bit dormant lately but with the US
summer
> > > season starting soon I'm sure we'll pick up.

Hey Ames, nice to hear from you! I think this was the first place on
the net for Taylor ever. History, folks! Anyway, glad you joined,
planning on attending any events this summer?

--- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, amsc2153 <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> Hi! New here - thought I'd say hi. Not many web sites or groups out
> there for Taylor. Nice to see one around. Best of luck to him rest of
> the season!
> Take care!
> -Ames
>
> --- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, "tennisdear"
> <tennisdearthegreat@h...> wrote:
> > Just saw that a bunch of new folks have joined up this week -- come
> > out and say hi! We're a bit dormant lately but with the US summer
> > season starting soon I'm sure we'll pick up.

Hi! New here - thought I'd say hi. Not many web sites or groups out
there for Taylor. Nice to see one around. Best of luck to him rest of
the season!
Take care!
-Ames

--- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, "tennisdear"
<tennisdearthegreat@h...> wrote:
> Just saw that a bunch of new folks have joined up this week -- come
> out and say hi! We're a bit dormant lately but with the US summer
> season starting soon I'm sure we'll pick up.

I was wondering what your thoughts were on this. Tails hasn't been
having a great year, and I think actually the grass-court season
(Nottingham and Wimbledon) was the first time he strung together two
match wins in a row since the Australian Open (also third round). I
think the bounce on hard courts makes it easier for people to return
his serve, plus he's sacrificing some speed to get higher serve
percentages in anyway. So what do you think? Will he win a title this
year? Will it be the US summer or do you think we'll have to wait
until the indoor season? He did win two titles at the end of last year
on the fast indoor courts, after all.

Personally, I think if he's going to transition from a big-server to a
true serve-and-volleyer, this kind of thing is inevitable. The biggest
obstacle still is in his head, I feel. Taylor can play great shots,
but he still isn't to the level where he's consistently imposing a
game plan for the duration of a match, every match. His volleys are
actually already gorgeous, I think, but if he's not setting up the
points right he isn't hitting them as often as he "should" be. Once he
starts getting confidence, I really believe him when he says he'll be
able to win every match he plays (whether or not he does). It's just a
matter of feeling you belong at the top, I think.

Also, since hard courts are hardest on the body, and Taylor has
unfortunately never been injury-free for long, would you recommend he
play a lot this summer to pick up that needed confidence (and valuable
rankings points of course!), or play sparingly to ensure he not injure
himself before the US Open?

Just saw that a bunch of new folks have joined up this week -- come
out and say hi! We're a bit dormant lately but with the US summer
season starting soon I'm sure we'll pick up.

June 27, 2004

U S Tennis
TENNIS: USTA Names 2004 U.S. Olympic Tennis Teams

PRESS RELEASE Release No. 43-2004


USTA NAMES 2004 UNITED STATES OLYMPIC TENNIS TEAMS

Gold Medallists Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati
Lead Women's Team

Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, and Bob and Mike Bryan Lead Men's Team

LONDON, England, June 26, 2004 - The USTA, U.S. women's coach Zina
Garrison and U.S. men's coach Patrick McEnroe today announced the U.S.
Olympic tennis teams that will compete in the 2004 Olympic Games,
August 13-29 in Athens, Greece.

Garrison named the six-player women's team of Venus Williams, Serena
Williams, Jennifer Capriati, and Chanda Rubin as singles players.
Martina Navratilova and Lisa Raymond and Venus Williams and Serena
Williams will compete as doubles teams.

McEnroe named a six-player men's team consisting of Andy Roddick,
Mardy Fish, Vince Spadea and Taylor Dent as singles players. Bob and
Mike Bryan and Roddick and Fish will pair as doubles teams.

The 2004 Olympic tennis competition will be staged August 15-22 on
hard courts at the Athens Olympic Tennis Center. The U.S. women's team
will look to sweep gold medals in both the singles and doubles
competition for a fourth straight Olympiad, while the U.S. men will
seek to return to the medal stand for the first time since the 1996.

"Selection to the U.S. Olympic team is a tremendous honor for these
athletes," said Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis,
USTA. "Each one of these players has worn the Stars and Stripes as
part of U.S. Davis Cup or Fed Cup teams. They know what playing for
more than themselves is all about."

"The U.S. Olympic tennis team competing in Athens is part of an
unprecedented summer in American tennis," said Alan Schwartz, Chairman
of the Board and President, USTA. "The Olympic Games, combined with
the launch of the US Open Series, the spectacle of the US Open, and
the upcoming Davis Cup semifinal will create one of the busiest and
most exciting summers for tennis fans in the United States."

"As a former Olympian, I know that our team will experience one of the
most memorable moments of their careers in Athens," said Garrison. "I
can't wait to walk in the Opening Ceremonies and share with our team
the pride we feel representing the USTA, the sport of tennis, and our
country at the Olympic Games."

"This team is excited and honored to be participating in the Olympic
Games and consider it a downright privilege," said McEnroe. "We are
going to put forth the best possible effort to bring as many medals as
we can back to the United States."

Venus Williams, 24, will be making her second Olympic appearance
having won a gold medal in both women's singles and women's doubles at
the 2000 Olympic Games, joining Helen Wills in 1924 as the only player
to sweep both titles in the same Olympiad. A resident of Palm Beach
Gardens, Fla., Williams holds two Wimbledon and two US Open singles
titles. She is seeking to become the first player to ever repeat an
Olympic gold medal in singles.

Serena Williams, 22, will be making her second Olympic appearance
having won a gold medal in women's doubles at the 2000 Olympic Games
with sister Venus, becoming the first set of siblings to win Olympic
gold in tennis. A resident of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Williams has
won six career Grand Slam singles titles, and in 2003, became one of
only five women to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles within a
12-month period.

Capriati, 28, will be making her second Olympic appearance having won
a gold medal in women's singles at the age of 16 at the 1992 Olympic
Games in Barcelona. A resident of Saddlebrook, Fla., Capriati has won
three Grand Slam singles titles during her career - the 2001 French
Open and the 2001 and 2002 Australian Opens. In 2001, she was named
the USOC's Female Athlete of the Year.

Rubin, 28, was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team but was forced
to withdraw from the competition following the Opening Ceremonies due
to a wrist injury. She is a five-time member of the U.S. Fed Cup team
and was a member of the 1995 U.S. Pan Am Games team. A resident of
Lafayette, La., she was a semifinalist at the 1995 Australian Open.

Navratilova, 47, will be making her Olympic debut in Athens in a
professional tennis career that began in 1973 and includes 18 Grand
Slam singles titles, 39 Grand Slam doubles titles, 167 singles titles,
174 doubles titles and a perfect 40-0 record as member of the U.S. Fed
Cup team. A resident of Aspen, Colo., Navratilova will be the oldest
player to compete for the U.S. in Olympic tennis.

Raymond, 30, will be competing in the Olympics for the first time in
her career. A resident of Wayne, Pa., Raymond holds five career Grand
Slam doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open women's doubles title.
She has represented the United States in Fed Cup for six years.

Roddick, 21, will be competing in the Olympics for the first time in
his career. The resident of Austin, Texas and Boca Raton, Fla., won
his first Grand Slam singles title at the 2003 US Open and finished
last year as the No. 1 player in the world. Roddick holds a 12-3
record as a member of the U.S. Davis Cup.

Fish, 22, also will be competing in the Olympics for the first time in
his career. A resident of Tampa, Fla., Fish has won his first career
singles title on the ATP Tour last fall in Stockholm, Sweden and has
reached four other career singles finals. Fish holds a 3-4 record as a
member of the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Spadea, 29, is making his second Olympic appearance after representing
the United States at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. A
resident of Boca Raton, Fla., Spadea returned to the top 30 in the
world rankings by winning his first ATP singles titles in 223 attempts
in February in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Dent, 23, will be making his Olympic debut and will join his cousin,
U.S. beach volleyball player Misty May as part of the U.S. athlete
delegation in Athens. A resident of Newport Beach, Calif., Dent was a
member of the U.S. Davis Cup team in 2003.

Identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan, 26, will be competing in the
Olympics for the first time. The brothers will join 1904 Olympians
Joseph and Arthur Wear, the great, great uncles of President George W.
Bush, as the only sets of brothers to represent the United States in
Olympic tennis. Residents of Camarillo, Calif., the Bryans are the No.
1 doubles team in the world and won their first career Grand Slam
doubles title at the 2003 French Open. The duo also won a bronze medal
at the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, Canada.

At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Venus Williams became the second
woman to win Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles, defeating
Elena Dementieva of Russia in the gold medal match in women's singles,
while pairing with sister Serena Williams to defeat Miriam Oremans and
Kristie Boogert of the Netherlands in the gold medal match in women's
doubles. American women have swept gold medals in singles and doubles
during the last four Olympiads.

Andre Agassi was the last American man to win Olympic gold in men's
singles when he defeated Spain's Sergi Bruguera in the gold medal
match at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Ken Flach and Robert
Seguso are the last American team to win Olympic gold in men's doubles
when they defeated Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez of Spain in the
gold medal match at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

Tennis was part of the Olympic program from the first modern Olympiad
in 1896 until 1924. After a 64-year hiatus, tennis returned to the
official Olympic program in 1988, becoming the first sport to feature
professional athletes. Team nominations are subject to approval by the
U.S. Olympic Committee.

# # #
For more information contact:
Randy Walker, USTA Senior Publicity Manager
(914) 696-7289 or Rwalker@...

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the
U.S. It owns and operates the US Open, the largest annually attended
sporting event in the world. In addition, it owns the 96 Pro Circuit
events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup,
Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. A not-for-profit organization
with more than 670,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to
promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the
professional levels. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.

TD (tennisdearthegreat@...) has suggested you might be interested in
this FOX Sports report:

Top two on course for showdown (From correspondents in London, June 28, 2004)

THE third Sunday action in Wimbledon history saw the two top men's seeds, Roger
Federer and Andy Roddick stay firmly on course for what would be a titanic
final.

The full story is available at:
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,9975897-23216,00.html

The article below from NYTimes.com
has been sent to you by tennisdearthegreat@....


Great article from the NY Times

tennisdearthegreat@...


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\----------------------------------------------------------/


Serve and Volley, a Rare but Welcome Sight

June 28, 2004
  By HARVEY ARATON





Wimbledon, England

YOU are down only one set to Andy Roddick in the third
round of Wimbledon and are a measly point from evening the
match. Second-set tie breaker, 6-5, but here's the problem,
a big one: it's second serve, with Roddick ready to pounce,
loading up for the return.

What to do, stay back and hope for the best against the
superior baseline player with an executioner's forehand, or
stick to your guns, fire off the serve and follow it in?

"I just said, 'Big second serve, go the body, try to jam
him, get in there,' " Taylor Dent said.

Immediately, this was bad for him, as Roddick stepped
around the serve and rifled a forehand that Dent couldn't
volley cleanly. But philosophically, this was good for
tennis, a sport crying out for contrast, for diversity of
style.

"He keeps coming in, and that takes courage," Dent's
father, Phil, a former top-20 tour player, said proudly
after his boy lost a battle of muscular Americans, 6-3, 7-6
(6), 7-6 (1) to the second-seeded Roddick.

Conviction is probably the more appropriate word, or the
willingness to ply a serve-and-volley path on which even
the keepers of the lawns have hung signs that read: Beware
of heavier balls, slower grass and rocket-like returns.

"They're trying to slow everything down so there are more
rallies," Taylor Dent said. "In the locker room, guys are
complaining about their arms being sore."

Transformation is inevitable, even here at SW 19, the
swankiest and stuffiest of tennis addresses. Players don't
have to salute royal-box aristocrats upon exiting anymore.
A retractable roof for the green and grand old court is on
the horizon.

Yesterday, Tim Henman, whose family for generations has
held membership here, half-joked that as president some
day, he would make People's Sunday a yearly occurrence, not
just a rain makeup date when the plain and pub folk may
actually pay their way into tennis's cathedral.

We bow and curtsy to the forces of change, except for this
concerted, continuing effort to make Wimbledon much too
groundstroke-friendly for baseliners previously allergic to
grass.

Net result: one more reason for coaches everywhere to
develop players less schooled than their ancestors in the
geometry of the game.

Tennis is always in self-analysis, and dealing with thorny
marketing issues, not the least of which is how the graying
and golf-loving American sports media elite yawns at tennis
while ignoring golf's plummeting television ratings as
Tiger runs on a half-empty tank.

But tennis had better face up to a hard fact: 43-stroke
rallies and three-and-a-half-hour matches are as appealing
to young people as watching lawns grow.

On this side of the pond, the short-sighted club consensus
was that Wimbledon had become too much about service power,
although Andre Agassi was good enough in the power tennis
era to win it from the baseline in 1992.

A decade later, the changes were such that Lleyton Hewitt
outlasted the field with looping, languorous groundstrokes,
while old serve-and-volley savants like John McEnroe
muttered, "You cannot be serious."

On the women's side, grass-court tennis as we know it is
practiced only by the 47-year-old ghost of Martina
Navratilova. Americans may think of Henman as a gentleman
of the lawns, but he struck an underpublicized blow for
attack tennis by reaching the French Open semifinals
earlier this month. Roger Federer, the top-seeded defending
champion, has a beautifully crafted hybrid game, which is
why he is the consensus favorite to beat Roddick here
Sunday in the final.

"That's why Federer has it all over these guys, because he
can do everything and 90 percent of them play the same
way," said Phil Dent, a child of Australian grass courts
whose son grew up on Southern California concrete. "Hit a
big serve, stay back, crack a big forehand."

Betty Ann Grubb, Taylor's mother, also played
professionally, partnering with Renee Richards, the
transsexual who in the 1970's roiled women's tennis.

So now, perhaps, we better understand Dent, this
23-year-old maverick who said: "Serve and volley is pretty
much a no-brainer for me. I'm pretty stubborn."

A six-year pro ranked 31st, Dent won three tournaments last
year, beating Roddick along the way to a title in Memphis.
When they played again at the Australian Open this year,
Roddick defeated him, 6-2, 6-0, 6-2, and Dent called it the
worst drubbing of his life.

Serve-and-volleyers generally require more time to
coordinate their skills, hence the paucity of
practitioners. Maybe Dent will mount a charge at the top
10, maybe he won't. What he promises to do is continue to
push forward against the heavy flow of groundstroke
traffic, as he did on every serve yesterday, including the
point after 6-5 in that second-set tie breaker.

Again, behind another second serve, he moved in. Back came
another bullet for another minibreak, and set point for
Roddick.

"I did what I do," Dent said. Good for him. Good for
tennis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/sports/tennis/28araton.html?ex=1089390422&ei=1\
&en=d6c88ac58e4fdcc7


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I was wondering if y'all would like to chat during the Dent-Roddick
match tomorrow over on TDO ... I put up a new chat interface and
everything, a little slow to connect but much better (I think) than
bravenet and yahoo. Anywho, I am going to try and get fans from both
sides together for a little friendly
simultaneous-match-watching-and-chatting, and if you guys would like
to drop by, that'd be way cool :-)

http://fanzone.taylordentonline.vze.com/chat.html


Check www.wimbledon.org for when it'll be on, yadda yadda. I'll
probably be in there all night too, testing to see if things work, so
if you can drop by earlier say hi!

what a piss easy match for dent! he played extremely well, and won
in straight sets.
6-3 6-3 7-6

Dent will play Andy Roddick in round 3. Lets hope its not a repeat
of the australian open :(

Go tails!

--- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, "tennisdear"
<tennisdearthegreat@h...> wrote:
> Ugh, rain >:-(

Dent thorough in 3.

   Taylor Dent USA (26)  	  6 6 6

   Ramon Delgado PAR 	  	  2 3 4

Ugh, rain >:-(

--- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, "Slash" <rzeractor@y...> wrote:
> From what I can see, an easy win for Taylor. Ramon has been
knocked
> out first round all 3 times that he's played there.
> Dent will probably have trouble in round 3, when he faces Andy
> Roddick.

Beautiful, Taylor Dent is up 2 sets to 0, and is leading 5-4 in the
third, before play got suspended.

The article below from NYTimes.com
has been sent to you by tennisdearthegreat@....



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Spoilers Lurking at the Wimbledon Transition

June 21, 2004
  By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY





LONDON, June 20 - Though it is still too brief, it remains
one of the best transitions in sports. In early June, the
world's finest tennis players leave long, flowing marks on
the southwestern outskirts of Paris as the late afternoon
light casts shadows across the burnt sienna of Center
Court. Two weeks later, most of the cast members scuttle
about the lawns on the southwestern outskirts of London as
the light plays pleasant tricks with shades of green.

There are plenty of complaints about with tennis - problems
with injuries, infighting and drug testing, to name a few -
but there is something special about scheduling the French
Open and Wimbledon in the same basic time frame. Combined,
they are a great test of a champion's versatility and
adaptability. Combined, they are also a great boost for the
game's lesser lights, who get to take turns playing the
spoiler.

Though nobody was quaking at the thought of playing young
Americans like Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent on clay at Roland
Garros this year, nobody will be looking forward to playing
them on grass at the All England Club. It is a quick
reshuffling of the deck that keeps the game fresh and
interesting, but this year there will be slightly less
transition than usual.

Although Tim Henman became the first Briton in 41 years to
reach the French Open semifinals, it remains difficult to
see him winning here with the defending champion, Roger
Federer of Switzerland, in fine form. But it is less
difficult to imagine Henman reaching his first final.

If seeding is respected, the man Henman will have to beat
in the semifinals to take the next leap is No. 2-seeded
Andy Roddick, who just won the Queen's Club for the second
straight year. Roddick lost here in the semifinals to
Federer last year, but his first breakthrough in a Grand
Slam event set the table for his United States Open victory
in September. Weather permitting (rain is forecast),
Roddick will play his first match on Tuesday against Wang
Yeu-tzuoo, a 19-year-old qualifier from Taiwan.

"I think a lot of it is between the ears," Roddick said. "I
was playing great tennis at Wimbledon last year. I still
think I was playing well enough to have a chance of
winning, but I've experienced a lot more big matches in the
last year than I probably experienced combined before that.
So I think that's the biggest thing, and just the
confidence of knowing that I can win a Grand Slam."

Now that Andre Agassi has withdrawn, citing concern about
aggravating a hip injury, Roddick is the leading American
man in London. But he is still not as complete a package on
grass as Federer: not entirely at ease serving and
volleying and still vulnerable if made to dig too low for
too many backhands or play too many creative shots in
transition.

Then again, Federer can't crush a serve the way Roddick
can. Federer was beaten in the third round in Paris, but
grass is another matter. Take it from the 14th-seeded Fish,
who lost to Federer in the third round at Wimbledon last
year and in the final in Halle, Germany, on June 13.

"He gave me a little more last year than this year," Fish
said. "He plays every point now. Even when it's 40-15, a
routine game, and you're serving, it's not over. He's
bearing down and still trying to keep you in the game."

But this Wimbledon is not going to be just the second of
many odes to the manifold strengths of Federer. It is also
going to be heavy on first-week nostalgia.

Goran Ivanisevic is back to finish his career at the place
that first defined him as a charismatic head case and
redefined him as a symbol of the benefits of perseverance
when he finally won in 2001 as a wild card. His fragile
left shoulder, which eventually required surgery, and other
pains and aches have kept him from returning until now.

Martina Navratilova has had plenty of opportunities to
revel in her record nine singles titles at Wimbledon, but
she, too, will be back. She has not played singles here in
10 years, but at 47, she decided to ask for and accept a
singles wild card, as she did at the French Open, where she
lost in the first round.

One women's rivalry has a chance to be renewed. Although
Venus and Serena Williams missed much of last season
because of injuries and the death of their half sister,
Yetunde, the absentees of late have been their Belgian
successors atop the ranking: No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne
and No. 2 Kim Clijsters. Both will miss Wimbledon,
Henin-Hardenne because of the lingering effects of a viral
infection and Clijsters because of her postoperative left
wrist.

In their absence, the women's draw is no longer so
compelling. The Williams sisters were beaten in the
quarterfinals at the French Open.

"We just were both pretty disappointed in ourselves,"
Serena Williams said. "But we had to get over it quickly
because there was Wimbledon around the corner, and we don't
want to bring the bad karma to Wimbledon."

Although Serena is ranked 10th and Venus 8th, Serena was
bumped up to the No. 1 seeding and Venus to No. 3. They
have each won twice here, yet they remain vulnerable until
proven confident and consistent.

In the meantime, another Russian winner is hardly out of
the question. Anastasiya Myskina became the first woman
from her nation to claim a Grand Slam singles title by
winning the French Open, and her compatriots Mariya
Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova won grass-court events in
the last two weeks.

"I would love it if there were four of us in the
semifinals," said Myskina, fresh off a lunch last week at
the Moscow home of Boris Yeltsin, the former Russian
president.

"He had some tips for me," Myskina said. "He is always
like, 'You should play down the line more.' "

In light of recent results, the ones in greater need of
advice are the Williamses.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/21/sports/tennis/21tennis.html?ex=1088796600&ei=1\
&en=8ca3b3f1c7e63686


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From what I can see, an easy win for Taylor. Ramon has been knocked
out first round all 3 times that he's played there.
Dent will probably have trouble in round 3, when he faces Andy
Roddick.

--- In taylordent@yahoogroups.com, "Slash" <rzeractor@y...> wrote:
> According to the draws, Dent will be playing Bjorkman in round 1
> this mon?t. This will be a tough match for him, especially if his
> ankle is (still) playing up. We all know how good Bjorkman is on
> Clay..

Update: Currently it is 1 set all, however Bjorkman is leading 3
games to 2 in the third. Dent's service game has improved GREATLY,
he has only served 3 double faults so far. However like usual his
unforced errors are high, however they aren't as high as they were
in the Aus Open earlier this year.

According to the draws, Dent will be playing Bjorkman in round 1
this mon?t. This will be a tough match for him, especially if his
ankle is (still) playing up. We all know how good Bjorkman is on
Clay..

http://www.nasdaq-100open.com/news/photos/gallery21025.html

This story was sent to you by: TD

Scroll down for coaching change news -- Tails' coach is now Francisco Montana.

--------------------
Rubin, Ferrero latest to withdraw from Nasdaq-100
--------------------

By Charles Bricker
Staff Writer

March 22, 2004

KEY BISCAYNE * The Nasdaq-100 Open lost its fifth top-10 woman plus French Open
winner Juan Carlos Ferrero on a Sunday that saw five more names erased from the
tournament draw.

Chanda Rubin, runner-up in 1996 and in the semifinals here a year ago, pulled
out of the tournament with a knee injury she has been nursing since February.

Later in the day, Ferrero, No. 2 in the world behind Roger Federer, was
officially declared out with the chicken pox he contracted a week and a half
ago, before the tournament at Indian Wells.

Ferrero was leading No. 3 Andy Roddick of Boca Raton by 125 points in the ATP
rankings going into Indian Wells, but even if Roddick can't overtake him, and he
probably won't when the new rankings come out today, he'll bump up to the No. 2
seed. That means if he faces Federer in what would be advertised as another
blockbuster match, it would only be in the Nasdaq final.

Also out Sunday: No. 18 Patty Schnyder, No. 37 Felix Mantilla of Spain and No.
42 Felippo Volandri of Italy.

The women's tour took by far the biggest hit. It still has a great story line in
the comeback of Serena Williams after an eight-month injury hiatus, but it won't
have the top-four ranked players No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No. 2 Kim
Clijsters, No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo and No. 4 Lindsay Davenport.

It also won't have a much-anticipated rematch between Williams and
Henin-Hardenne, who staged a very controversial semifinal at the French Open
last year.

The secondary story here now becomes the small army of Russians in position to
fill the void. Nine Russians are among the 32 seeds, an extraordinary number.

They are Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Nadia Petrova,
Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova, Elena Bovina, Danara Safina and Lina
Krasnoroutskaya, who must be half-stunned to be seeded.

Krasnoroutskaya comes to Key Biscayne with only a 3-6 record and is ranked 37th.
But with five players out of the draw she moves to 32.

"This is very good for the Russians," said Petrova after a one-hour practice
session Sunday with Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga. "It means for these nine we
won't have to play each other until the third round at the earliest."

There could be as many as six more Russians directly into the main draw and
others who could reach the tournament by qualifying, which begins today.

While Ferrero's elegant game will be missed, he has never been a strong factor
at Key Biscayne. In four previous years he's never gotten past the fourth round.

New coach for Dent

Francisco Montana of Miami, who won 10 doubles titles on the ATP tour before
retiring in 1998, is the latest coach to work with Taylor Dent, who needs to
settle in with one tutor and find some consistency in his career.

Dent has gone from working with his father, former Aussie Davis Cupper Phil
Dent, to Eliot Teltscher to Brad Stine, back to his father, and now Montana.

Like Stine, Montana will be emphasizing fitness for Dent, who is carrying about
200 pounds and still looking for that next breakthrough that will send him into
the top 20.

Dent, of Newport Beach, Calif., finished strong last season, reaching the round
of 16 at the U.S. Open, gaining No. 29 in the rankings and finishing the year at
No. 33. He hasn't played since Memphis in mid-February, where he lost an
opening-round match to Jan-Michael Gambill, leaving him at 6-4 for the season.
He is currently No. 43.

Montana will continue working with Alex Bogomolov of Miami, who now has a
built-in practice partner in Dent.

Big chance for teenager

Alex Kuznetsov, the 16-year-old Ukrainian-born natural American citizen who
lives in Richboro, Pa., was named hitting partner to the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Kuznetsov reached the quarterfinals of the Orange Bowl in Miami in December,
where he lost to No. 1 junior Marcos Baghdatis, then last week won a USTA
Futures event in Pensacola.

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