This week in American tennis: 13 takeaways

1. Serena Williams' successful return to Indian Wells continued nearly perfectly. Then it got weird. This week, Serena took care of business against Sloane Stephens and Timea Bacsinszky and had a semifinal set up against Simona Halep when all of a sudden the most unbelievable plot twist occured: she withdrew. Given the incredible build up around Serena's return, and the parallels with 2001 (last-minute withdrawal before a blockbuster semifinal), there was a high level of anxiety (at least on Twitter) about what would happen next.

For many, this became a "test" of the fans - the fans' second test of the week (they had, it seemed, passed the first test, her first match, with flying colors).  When push came to shove, when things got tense, would good sense overcome bitterness or, it was assumed, prejudice? And if it did not, what great lessons could we draw - or pretend to draw - from that around race, gender, class, etc?

I suppose it's fortunate for everyone that the crowd (guided with great aplomb by Andrew Krasny) was respectful, if disappointed. Serena has a way of forcing us to hold a mirror to ourselves - but, like, a two-way funhouse mirror, where we don't necessarily see ourselves as we really are; rather, we see others as exaggerated versions of themselves. Their reactions to anything she does, far more than our own, we see as incredibly meaningful. She's amazing like that.

And best of all? Serena promised to be back next year, and we can all go through this again in 11.5 months!

2. Serena still undefeated in 2015. She's only won one tournament, the Australian Open, but the withdrawal against Halep means she doesn't have a loss yet. In fact, Serena hasn't lost a fully-played, tournament-ending match since last summer, when Venus beat her in three sets in Montreal. She's had a retirement, a couple of walkovers, and the round robin loss to Halep in the WTA Championships in which she emerged the ultimate winner. Just an interesting side note to all this.

3. Sloane Stephens is not ... done ... yet. Sloane didn't win any matches this week - although she become the only player to win a set off Serena Williams at Indian Wells - but she showed confidence and enthusiasm. Despite falling a match short of defending her 2014 quarterfinal points, she will stay in the Top 50 for at least a bit longer.

She also spoke at length about the negativity she's received on Twitter from Serena fans, and named herself the "Queen of Blocking", which led to even more criticism by those who noted that she had blocked some people who hadn't even tagged her in a tweet. While some took that to mean she had proactively searched her name on Twitter (supposedly a bad idea), I think that is an unwarranted assumption - because some of the cracks about Sloane could easily have been retweeted into her timeline, and she took proactive steps to make sure that didn't happen again.

But maybe it is correct, that Sloane searches her name and then blocks people who tweet nasty things about her rather than to her. In which case, I'm of two minds. On the one had, Twitter is full of a special kind of snarkiness that may be meant as lighthearted but which can easily be read as being mean for meanness' sake. And in the relatively small world of tennis Twitter, it's fine with me if the subject of the snarkiness wants to reach out and send folks a message, passive aggressive as it may be, that their snarkiness isn't really harmless. On the other hand, Sloane's desire to shield herself from criticism could be read as symbolic of a larger problem - an oversensitivity, a "gold star" mentality (see below) that could lead her to avoid adversity rather than facing it and fighting through it. Which might be affecting her career for the worse. Pure uneducated speculation but hey, it's a possibility.

4. Jack Sock is a winner. He and Vasek Pospisil won their third doubles title (Jack dedicated this one to his brother, Eric, who recently survived a health scare), with yet another win over the Bryan Brothers in the semis. They've now won a major, a Masters Series 1000, and a 250 in just 7 tournaments together. This guy also has won a mixed doubles slam title and a junior slam title. He also had a very nice Top-20 win over Roberto Bautista-Agut on Tuesday. He was taught a lesson in the next round by Federer, sure, and has notable flaws in his game, but damn if he doesn't give us fans of American tennis reason to celebrate, and hope, more often than not. And wow: what a memorable first tournament of the year.

5. Wayne Odesnik is a loser. I mean - yeah, everyone's taken turns pissing on the guy, but jeez. Importing HGH, being in the Biogenesis notes, and now a drug test in which you fail for multiple substances? A lot of American players and fans were happy to see him go, in part because he wasn't so popular to begin with and in part because they felt like he was a stain on "American tennis." I certainly won't miss him, even if I think he could be a bit of a scapegoat. Another guy not sorry to see him go:

@andrewikesports my feelings are that he's a douchebag and I hate that he has a US flag next to his name when he's cheating. Good riddance
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) March 18, 2015

I partook in a discussion in which I argued that responses like Andy's were understandable rather than a sign of American arrogance or exceptionalism. What's your call?

6. Claire Liu is WOW. The first player born in the 2000s with a singles ranking became the first player born in the 2000s to win a title, as she completely dismantled Hungary's Fanny Stollar in the Orlando $10K final. Incredibly, the wildcard didn't drop a set in the tournament.  When the post-Miami rankings come out, she'll be well inside the Top 1000.

US women have now won 5 of the 8 USTA Pro Circuit events this year. Nice.

(Speaking of which, it's interesting that there have only been 8 women's tournaments so far, compared to 12 men's events. That's not counting the 3 ATP Challengers, for which there's no WTA counterpart, or the two pre-Indian Wells ATP World Tour events compared to zero for women. Overall: 18 US tournaments for men, including Indian Wells, and 9 for women. And yet US women are doing much better in the rankings. Interesting. Discuss.)

7. The BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge Powered by Oracle did not get the royal treatment. The University of Oklahoma did a great job of winning the 8-team event but it felt completely buried. Did the tournament social media even mention it? I'm pretty sure they didn't. So ... what was the point again?

8. Steve Johnson has a Tennisography! Which is worth it, if nothing else, for the hairstyles from his youth. Any chance he'll decide to grow it out again? Because that would be rad.

Watch it here:


Tennisography: Steve Johnson (Final) from Tennis Channel on Vimeo.

9. GLATCH! A woman who has been beset by injuries ever since she came upon the tennis scene, Alexa Glatch beat four seeds, including world #110 Tatjana Maria, to win the $25K title in Irapuato, Mexico. In the final she beat Renata Voracova, who kept her out of the Australian Open with a final round qualies straight set defeat.

It's her first title since returning from injury last fall, and should vault her back into the Top 300. Very, very awesome.

10. Smee! Beats 3 top-50 players in getting to the final of the Irving Challenger, dubbed by Joey Hanf as the Irving 250. Tim Smyczek is back in the Top 75 and has zero points to defend until the French Open (and only 32 points to defend until July). Excited to see how the next few months go for him.

11. Usue Arconada wins Grade A Porto Alegre! She becomes the first American girl to win the prestigious clay court juniors event since Melissa Middleton in 1997 (when it was held in Venezuela).

American girls are now defending titlists at three of the five annual non-major Grade A juniors tournaments (the other two are Sofia Kenin at the Orange Bowl and CiCi Bellis at the Italian Open). Same can be said about the boys. Unfortunately, besides Noah Rubin, the same can't be said about the junior slams. Which is weird. But anyway, junior American tennis is having a terrific run of late. Of course, the next step is what most people really care about. We'll see how that goes.

12. Jarmere Jenkins goes viral ... again. He had a rough loss in the quarterfinal of Drummondville (while another erstwhile college player, J.P. Smith, picked up the win) but in the second round, he got lots of views for this:

“@SBNation: Behold: the angriest tennis player. http://t.co/kW6Ahxxh5b https://t.co/aghoeFAHOo” here @JarmereJenkins have a snickers
— aleah marrow (@AleahM8701) March 17, 2015

After last year's epic face plant in his win against Tennys Sandgren, it's pretty clear that Jenkins needs to get into majors sooner rather than later.  He's pure social media gold.

13. Oh yeah. Tiafoe. Wow. It's been that kind of weekend. After spending the last 24 hours praising Frances Tiafoe's awesome run to his first career title at the Bakersfield $15K, I totally left him off this list (thanks @CrackedCourtsNY!). The 17-year-old started with three three-set wins and then rolled through his last two matches. In all he beat four former college guys (all of whom played in southern California) and won a tournament with a very strong field. Great to see a guy who has had heavy expectations placed on him get that first notch on his belt.

Gold stars:

I firmly believe that EVERYONE deserves gold stars in life, just for showing up. But I guess that's a bad thing now, and the reason kids these days are assholes, so I will limit my gold stars to the following Americans who had really nice weeks: Maria Sanchez (Irapuato semis), William Blumburg (Porto Alegre boys final), Walker Duncan (Bakersfield QF), Raveena Kingsley (Orlando semis), Connor Farren (Bakersfield semis), Sekou Bangoura (Bakersfield doubles title, with Darian King, AND a qualies win on the same day), Ingrid Neel (Orlando doubles title with Fanny Stollar), and Kylie McKenzie (first career QF, in Orlando).


BONUS! YOU GET TO VOTE ON WHO HAD THE BEST WEEK LAST WEEK!

Who had the best week March 16-22?

Last week in American tennis: 5 takeaways

A quick rundown of some stuff we learned last week:

1. Serena. Back. Awesome. What an incredible, emotional return for Serena Williams to the place of her most difficult on-court moment. Despite some fears, the crowd was embracing of her return and strongly supportive of her win over the frustrating/tricky/amazing Monica Niculescu. 

As I said on Twitter, I've never felt the situation in which she and the Indian Wells crowd was involved was as black and white as others believe. CNN, as an example, stated as a matter of fact that Serena was subject to "racist abuse" in 2001 but I believe the reality is far more complicated. Serena, Venus, and Richard Williams all have carried an immense weight around them for decades now, and it's always been tied up with America's (and much of the world's) culture of white supremacy. But other factors were at play as well, and to deny those is to deny the complexity of the situation.

But back to tennis: she failed to drop a set in her first two matches, setting up a reunion with Sloane Stephens today. And that is it's own kettle of really, really complicated fish.

2. USA men looking solid at the top. It wasn't a great start to the BNP Paribas Open for US men, as only 1 player (out of __ entered), Dennis Novikov, managed to qualify. Bjorn Fratangelo lost a gut wrencher to top seed Borna Coric (but opening a lot of eyes at the same time) while Taylor Fritz upset World #109 Dudi Sela - the biggest win of his career - but couldn't follow it up against #125 Thiemo De Bakker.

Still, four guys reached the 3rd round, including Jack Sock in two dramatic, emotional matches. This is Jack's first tournament of the year, since undergoing pelvic surgery. While he was out, his brother Eric had a massive health scare. Jack has dedicated his wins at Indian Wells to Eric.

Donald Young and Steve Johnson got upset wins over Jeremy Chardy and Ivo Karlovic, respectively, while Johm Isner was dominant in his first match against Jurgen Melzer. Unfortunately, unless Isner can reach the semis again this year, USA will again be without a Top 20 men's player. But compared to where we were a year ago (Isner at #13 but no other men in the Top 50; 4 guys total in the Top 100) things are looking much better.

3. Some very nice results for women. In addition to Serena's run, US women notched 13 wins in the first week of the tournament. That's more wins than they'd secured at any full Indian Wells tournament since 2006.  Particularly impressive were first-round wins by Sachia Vickery (in two exciting tiebreaks over Alla Kudryatseva), Irina Falconi (over Alja Tomljanovic, a win that should bring her back to the Top 100) and Taylor Townsend (sadly, over Bethanie Mattek-Sands in a fantastic three sets), as well as Sloane's first three-match winning streak since the 2014 French Open.

The Vickery match, by the by, is where I captured this bit of awesomeness from chair umpire Anja Vreg. It's somehow amazing even without the sound.

@vrcsports @tjc05 @Renestance here's the segment I was talking about. 3-2 30-30 in the second. And Alla won the point pic.twitter.com/2gMcmyefZ6
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) March 13, 2015

4. Tennys Canada! He lost the final, but Tennys Sandgren upped his winning streak in Canada's first two futures to 9 matches. He should be at least back in the Top 500 come Monday (no rankings came out yesterday due to Indian Wells), and could be higher depending on how he does in the Drummondville Challenger.

Also in that Sherbrook, Canada Futures, Eric Quigley had three remarkable comebacks to reach the semis.  In the quarters, he was down 2-6 in the third set tiebreak to Daniel Smethurst before rallying to win the last 6 points of the match. Unfortunately, he fell to eventual champion Edward Corrie in the semis, depriving us of an amazing all-SEC Kentucky vs. Tennessee final. Hopefully some day...

5. Teen American girls thrived in Florida. Finally, a huge round of applause to the six young American women who reached the quarterfinals of the Gainesville $10K event. Three qualifiers (Kaitlyn McCarthy, Alexa Graham, and Sofia Kenin), a Lucky Loser (Ingrid Neel), and the top seed Katerina Stewart - all under 18 - made it quite the event to follow scores for. Stewart won the title 6-4 4-6 6-4 over Kenin.

The most amazing win, however, belonged to 17-year-old Ellie Halbauer. Facing the #2 seed Elena Bogdan (who had just the week prior beaten Lauren Davis), the American took the first set 6-0 and raced to a 5-2 lead in the second. Serving for the match, she had match points at 40-0 (or 40-15, I'm not 100% sure) but got broken. She got the set to a tiebreak but lost it 7-2.

Halbauer then went down a break and Bogdan was serving up 4*-3. But then Halbauer won the next two games. With Halbauer serving at 5-5, the live score did something nutty. After several game points, Halbauer faced break point. And soon, the score changed to show Bogdan would serve for the match at 6*-5. But a minute or so later, it changed, and all of a sudden it was game point again for Halbauer. This time she converted, and a Bogdan hold later it was a third-set tiebreak - won by Halbauer 7-4.  All in all, a thrilling match to follow and a huge win for the youngster.

Wil Spencer is giving this a shot

He claims not to remember beating the #6 player in the world which - okay, I can understand that. He’s played a lot of matches in his life, and just because the name RAONIC, Milos (CAN) stands out at us today is no reason such a name would have necessarily registered at the time, in the juniors.

The time was October 2007. The player - who that fall also recorded wins over players such as Vasek Pospisil, Chase Buchanan, and Jarmere Jenkins - is now ranked #846, well below his erstwhile foes.

His name is Wil Spencer, and he hopes to face those guys again, in the pros.

The journey to #846 has been a bit unconventional; there have been a lot of chapters in his relatively short novel.

The latest chapter opened in Weston, Florida - a nine-hour drive within the same state (quite a long state it is) from where he grew up on the same green clay . He was playing in the qualifying of the $10K Futures event, the lowest rung on the professional tennis ladder.

Now, these South Florida Futures events have gigantic qualifying draws. In fact there are as many men in the qualifying draws of these as there are in the main draw of the most populated tournaments in the world (the Slams). 128 guys signed up to play the Weston qualifying draw, from Macedonia and Zimbabwe and Peru, mostly Americans though; mostly teenagers but some well into their 20s. Some college guys. Some explosive juniors who will clearly not be at this level for long. Veterans returning from layoffs. Some guys who have never held an ATP ranking. 

Spencer was the #6 seed. 8 guys get in, and so the top 8 seeds are, generally, the best bets to make the main draw. And if you're Spencer, you might be inclined to think, “Hey, I’m a Top 8 seed facing a guy without a ranking, how tough can it be?” But of course you know better, as you were that guy-without-a-ranking a mere two months prior. Some of these guys are real good and hungry. Every match you play is another opportunity for a defeat. And you know you have to win four matches - or avoid four defeats - to even have a SHOT at a single, golden ranking point.

Here’s how it went for Spencer:

USA F5: #6 seed, won his first three matches without breaking a sweat* but then ran into a most difficult opponent, 6’11”-at-17-years-old Reilly Opelka, in the final qualifying round. Spencer lost in straight sets. Record for 2015: 3-1. Total prize money: $0. Points: 0.

USA F6: Four hours north along Interstate 95, Palm Coast, Florida. #5 seed and this time, only 100 guys enter the qualies draw so he gets a first round bye. Spencer breezes through, losing just 9 games in the process. In the main draw, he drew the #4 seed, a Swede ranked #363 - the first Top 400 guy he’d faced as a pro - and lost in 2 sets. 2015 record: 6-2. Total prize money: $168. Points: 0.

USA F7: Back down south in Sunrise, 128 draw full, #3 seed. 2 quick wins, but then a heartbreaking loss to former Northwestern University star Raleigh Smith, in a 3rd set tiebreak. On the plus side, he reach your first-ever pro final, in doubles, and a $180 check! 2015 record: 8-3. Total prize money: $348. Points: 0.

USA F8: Just down the road from Sunrise in Plantation. 128 draw full, #3 seed. A double bagel and 2 more wins, but then the luck of the draw: #13 seed Orlando Luz, who happens to be the #2 junior player in the known universe, and particularly good on clay (all these events are on green clay). Spencer lost the first set, took the second in a tiebreak bagel, but then fell in the 3rd. He did pick up $36 for losing first round in doubles. 2015 record: 11-4. Total prize money: $384. Points: 0.

USA F9: Back in Sunrise, 128 full draw, lowest seed of the year: #7. Two straight-set wins followed by two three setters, and back in a main draw! Opponent: #8 seed Bruno Sant’anna. Result: straight-set win for Spencer! First point of the year. Next up was American junior Dennis Uspensky, who ran away with the first set and held on for a 6-1 6-4 victory. 2015 record: 16-5. Total prize money: $556. Points: 1!

So that’s it. 5 weeks, 5 tournaments, 16 wins, $111 per week, 1 point.

“It was good,” Spencer told me, about getting that first point of the year. “I was playing well. It was hot, really humid. He was getting a little tired, I could tell that he was a little fatigued. I felt good.” Was that ranking point in his head on match point? "It was close to the forefront throughout the match. It shouldn’t be. I got so many points in a short amount of time last November, right?" (More on that in a bit.) "In November this year, I’m going to have to defend those points. If not you lose them all. You don’t want to live on yesterday’s points. I realize that getting points now is the biggest. And offsetting expenses. But the points are what’s really going to get you to the next level. They're building blocks."

He’s enjoying playing, enjoying the grind, even if he’s not immediately seeing the rewards. I asked him about the atmosphere of the first day of qualies with those huge draws.

“You sign in, there’s a bunch of dudes there. I don’t like it a whole lot - I don’t enjoy having that many people there, because I know a few of the good competition. I like when it thins down, not that many people left, it’s quieter. I like it more quiet. The level is really good especially in those particular Futures. It’s the beginning of the year, down in South Florida where it’s beautiful, it attracts a lot of people; there’s a bunch in a row so they can kind of put down roots for a little bit, get a little accustomed to that area. Once you get more comfortable, you start playing better. You get time to get used to the weather.”

And to the green clay. As mentioned, Spencer grew up on green clay, and last fall on green clay is where he played out one of the most remarkable stories in recent tennis memory. It was in Niceville, Florida, just across Choctawhatchee Bay from where he grew up in Sandestin. His boss at the club in North Carolina where he was teaching gave him a couple of weeks off, and he had decided to make a go of it as a pro, entering the wildcard tournament of USA F31.

Prior to that, he played a money tournament in North Carolina, but prior to that he hadn’t played competitively since his days as a two-time All-America at the University of Georgia. (Well, he had one match against an in-state college rival, Georgia Tech’s Kevin King, in the qualies of the 2011 Atlanta ATP event, won 4&3 by King.)

Reflecting on those two and a half years off, Spencer said, “I felt like it was the best thing to do. I wasn’t ready for pro tennis, the pieces weren’t there.”

It wasn’t his first break from competitive tennis.

A highly regarded junior (see Raonic, supra), he played Junior Davis Cup and reached the second round of the U.S. Open juniors. He signed with Texas A&M, in the same class as Austin Krajicek. He had a good couple of years there, but then tragedy struck. His dad passed away in 2009, and after finishing the season, he went back to Florida to be with his mother and sister. He taught tennis alongside Brett Beattie (who’s coaching him now) and realized he missed playing.

When he was ready, he started again at the University of Georgia, where he excelled. He played for two more years, including his senior year at the #1 spot in the line-up.

His greatest moment? In the 2011 Team NCAA quarterfinals against University of Tennessee standout J.P. Smith. The Bulldogs had lost twice to their SEC rivals that year. This time around, the teams had split the first 6 points and it all came down to Spencer and Smith. Spencer won 7-5 in the 3rd. Here’s match point:

(His next opponent was none other than Steve Johnson. Steve won that one handily.)

After his final season in 2012, Spencer stayed in Athens for a year to complete his degree in International Affairs. “I wasn’t ready emotionally for touring. My heart wasn’t in it. I just didn’t really know.” By then, his mother and sister had moved to North Carolina, so he went up there to teach at a club for 2014. He found a church he liked, and did more soul searching. And decided “Yes, I want to give it a shot.” His club gave him two weeks off; he went to Niceville; won the wildcard without dropping a set. The rest is history. An amazing history.

Seth Stringer of the Northwest Florida Daily News did an impeccable job of covering Spencer’s run in Niceville, from his miraculous first-round win over #2 seed Peter Heller to his did-that-really-happen final win over #7 seed Peter Nagy.

That gave him 18 points. He's now up to 19.

Today, March 15, 2015, Spencer is in Bakersfield, where he just … JUST missed the main draw cut-off and is the #1 seed in qualies, playing against top junior and (and, as luck would have it, University of Georgia recruit) Walker Duncan. When we talked, Spencer was planning a trip to play a couple of Australian futures. Instead, a look at the entry lists shows he’ll stay in California and play more Futures qualies.

“Qualifying is good but I want to get past it," said Spencer. "It’s not where you want to get stuck. Maybe it’s a test of your will a little bit. I want to be able to go through them, but I kind of want to be able to do it the hard way. I know those other guys are living their dream. There has to be a starting point. There has to be an entry point for everyone. I’m on the cusp of that. I had to get a break. So I played the Niceville wildcard tournament. You could say that the people I worked with in North Carolina gave me a break by giving me a break (time off). There always has to be an onramp. But I don’t want to be playing [Futures qualifying] for a long period. Who you play can affect your game. If you play good players, your game automatically gets better. It ups your game. That’s where I want to be. I was able to get back in shape [in those Florida tournaments]. Now it’s time for the next step."

Spencer hasn't given himself a timeline for his pro career, or set a ranking goal. “I’m going to see what’s going on. Get a feel for it. There will be an evaluation at the end of the year: What have I learned? Do I want to keep doing this, can I keep doing this, what can I do to improve?”

As for now, “I feel great. I’m glad I’m 25. Maturity wise, I’m more mature than last year even. I love where I’m at right now.”

He's giving this a shot.

*This is not meant to be literal, as it was South Florida and even in January it’s tough to do much of consequence without breaking a sweat.

The Night James Ward's Dad Kissed Me

We're pleased to welcome back occasional On the Rise (a tennis blog) contributor Patrick Rourke for this essay on his experience at Day 1 of Davis Cup in Glasgow last weekend. Follow Patrick on twitter at @rourkeytennis.

As part of a trip to the United Kingdom, I had the pleasure of attending last week’s Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and the United States. Although I have attended my fair share of tennis tournaments, I had never been to Davis Cup, and was excited for what I was sure would be a different experience. In the days and weeks leading up to the tie, I read numerous articles from prominent journalists about how Davis Cup was “dead” and how it needed changing. Although I didn’t agree with this personally, could I really say, given that I had never been to a tie? So not only was I excited for the tie, but I was eager to see if what I read was really true or not (hint: it wasn’t).

After my tour of Celtic Park, my friend and I made our way into the Emirates Arena, and it was there I noticed the immediate difference. This wasn’t your average tennis match. Not only was the entire crowd decked out in their Union Jack apparel, but there were chants and songs, and EVERYONE was joining in. I had created a few of my own chants (mostly stolen from soccer tunes), but for the most part, this is something that is entirely absent in American tennis culture. The Brits were singing song after song, and although I did my best to match their efforts, it was an exercise in futility. But this led me to wonder, why is this something that isn’t present in American tennis? The only chants we ever hear are “U-S-A, U-S-A,” it’s great, but can’t we be more creative? As I mentioned previously, most of these were stolen from soccer chants. Is that the reason why we don’t have these chants? If we had another sport where singing/chanting was a large part of the fan experience, would we see Americans act on par with their European counterparts? That’s a question I can’t answer, but I wish we did, that is for certain. I mean, who doesn't want to hear a Donald Young song to the tune of “Go Cubs Go”? (I actually wrote such a song, yes my life is that sad.)

It would be impossible for me to write this reflection without devoting a part of it to fantastic support provided by the British crowd. I repeatedly wondered “would James Ward be in this match/have won that match without the support of the crowd?” and I believe that the answer is almost certainly no. They were, in a word, incredible. The chanting/cheering was just a part of it, but the most remarkable thing was listening to the entire stadium singing “Loch Lomond” in unison, and singing and clapping along to “500 Miles.” As much as it pained me to admit it, they were incredible. That was something that you would only see at Davis Cup. I don’t care if it’s a Brit playing at Wimbledon, or an Aussie on Rod Laver Arena, you will never see that atmosphere outside of Davis Cup. The passion from the fans, the passion from the players, it is completely unique to Davis Cup. And that, if nothing else, is why the competition is just fine as it is, and is not “in crisis” as many suggest.

Another aspect which particularly impressed me was the knowledge of the local fans. These were not your die-hard tennis fans, I’m sure they don’t follow Futures, or even most Challengers, but they knew just about everything about everyone involved in the tie. Ross Hutchins was sitting in front of me, and I pointed that out to the older Scottish couple in front of me, half expecting that they would have little to no idea who he was. And as soon as I said “do you know who…?” the woman looked at me as if I was insulting her. OF COURSE she knew who Ross Hutchins was, how could she not? Again, this was a noticeable difference between the Scottish fans and your average American fan. Not to say that they are inherently superior to your casual American fan, but…how many casual American fans would know someone of Hutchins’ stature? Probably not many.

Mr. Hutchins himself.
Photo by Patrick Rourke

Perhaps my favorite part of the whole experience (and I can’t believe I’m saying this, it hurts to put these words on paper), was seeing James Ward’s dad enjoy the experience. Again, I can’t believe these words are coming out of my mouth. I’ve watched his son crush my hopes and dreams and destroy the only thing I’ve ever loved (I have a penchant for the dramatic), on not one, but TWO separate occasions. And naturally, as I settled into my seat last Friday, there was Jim, the London cabbie and Arsenal supporter (strike one…) sitting right in front of me. As I alluded to in some of my tweets, we spent much of the match trading cheers/celebrations back and forth. And this is where I make the case for Davis Cup, because what I witnessed would never happen at any other tennis tournament.

As the match progressed, Mr. Ward went from occasional clapping to being ready to play the match himself. Don’t believe me? Well let me tell you this: Every time his son was returning on the far side (where Jim and James could make eye contact), Jim would stand up in the aisle and start hitting shadow forehand returns. Not half swings, with abbreviated strokes, but FULL BODY swings. He was quite literally jumping up and down in the aisle before returns, motioning to his nearly Top 100 son how he should hit it. Of course he was only partially serious, I’m sure he wasn’t actually encouraging James to hit it like that, but James did, once. Off an Isner second serve Ward went for his biggest return of the match, and hit a blistering forehand, one that I’m not sure even he knew he was capable of hitting. And James simply turned to his dad and started laughing, to which Mr. Ward replied with something along the lines of “I’d rather be lucky than good.”

It’s these sorts of moments that Davis Cup affords us. Too often, in the week to week grind of ATP/WTA/ITF tournaments, we get too caught up in wins and losses. Especially at the lower levels, it’s a win-at-all-costs mentality, and we don’t have the opportunity to really appreciate the game. Now I’m not saying that people don’t/shouldn’t care about Davis Cup, quite the contrary. Because wins and losses don’t have paychecks or (significant) ranking points attached to them, it is easier for fans and players (see: above paragraph) to laugh a bit, to appreciate the moment, and most importantly: ENJOY THE TENNIS. Personally, I feel like in half the matches I watch, I am so caught up in the score that I couldn’t tell you what actually went on during the match. But with Davis Cup, it is impossible NOT to appreciate what is going on around you. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t in awe of the Scottish crowd, and that I didn’t appreciate how much they contributed to what was an incredible atmosphere. And although I walked out of the Emirates Arena absolutely devastated with the results, it was impossible to not take consolation in the experience, seeing the sheer joy on Stefan Kozlov and Frances Tiafoe’s faces as Isner fought through holds.

After the match ended, my first thought was getting out of the arena as quickly as possible. I couldn’t stand any more cheering. But given the interaction I had with Mr. Ward throughout the match, I thought it would be petty to storm out without congratulating him. As I mentioned on Twitter, I went in for the handshake, and Jim responded with a hug and a kiss on the head. Okay then… After recovering from this shock, he thanked me. Wait, what? I was cheering against his kid all match! Yes, thanked me for cheering against James. Why? Because of the atmosphere it created. As I’ve tried to convey throughout, the beauty of Davis Cup is that it is an experience unlike any other tennis tournament. The cheering, the flags, the face paint, the dancing in the aisles; where else would we see this? The answer is nowhere. It’s something that is uniquely a part of this competition, and win or lose, it is something that I will always appreciate.

Long live Davis Cup.

New USA Career-High Rankings, March 9, 2015

Each week, On the Rise (a tennis blog) brings you a list of USAmerican players who have reached a new career-high ranking (CHR). This list covers all players in the Top 1000. Any player outside the Top 1000 will not be included unless they have earned at least one point since their previous career-high ranking. See all the CHR posts.

New ATP Career-High Rankings, March 9, 2015

Player name	New CHR	Last wk *= pvs CHR	+  from last wk	Pvs CHR If prior to last wk	Date achieved If prior to last wk
Jean-Yves Aubone	463	471*	+8
Peter Kobelt	489	526*	+37
Alexander Sarkissian	513	542*	+29
Tommy Paul	763	772*	+9
Wil Spencer	846	858	+12	849	11/24/2014
Dennis Uspensky	1281	1490*	+209

A very short list for both tours this week, with a mere 13 new career highs between the two. But every new career high - like every snowflake - is unique and special. So here's how the guys got here this week (all from Futures played in the Past):

USA F9/Sunrise

Last week we celebrated Aubone's first career high since before he was in college. As we noted, that didn't even include his performance from the prior week, where he reached the Sunrise semifinals. It's not a huge jump, but it gives him some cushion for June, when he has a big 28 points from his final-title combo in two 2014 Futures to defend.

The player Aubone beat in the quarters was Dennis Uspensky, the 18-year-old who has now had successive jumps of 147, 153, and now 209 rankings spots. Keep in mind, that only represents accumulations of 1, 1, and 2 points. It shows how big a point can be at that level of the rankings.

Uspensky, for his part, beat Wil Spencer. I'll have more on Spencer later this week. For now let's just say: AWESOME JOB on getting a main draw win after 15 qualies wins and no points to show for them.  Tommy Paul also got a first-round win in Sunrise, but fell to #1 seed Antal Van Der Duim in the second round.

Turkey F8/Antalya

Perhaps the most prolific world traveler among American Futures players is Peter Kobelt, who has been all over the place since starting his pro career in June. He reached third final in that stretch in Turkey, but for the third time came up short of the title. But he's now into the Top 500, a nice beautiful round number!

Australia F1/Adelaide

Alexander Sarkissian reached the semis of the first tournament of this swing before falling to (say it with me) U.S. Open Junior champ Omar Jasika. He'll join Kobelt in the Top 500 in two weeks, when the next rankings come out (nothing next week due to Indian Wells), thanks to his final at AUS F2.

New WTA Career-High Rankings, March 9, 2015

Player name	New CHR	Last wk *= previous   CHR	+  from last week	Pvs CHR If prior to last wk	Date achieved If prior to last wk
CiCi Bellis	215	244*	+29		2/9/2015
Caitlin Whoriskey	279	282*	+3
Bernarda Pera	293	299	+6	298	2/23/2015
Lauren Embree	322	324*	+2
Usue Arconada	663	709*	+46
Kelly Chen	714	716*	+2
Claire Liu	1221	n/a	n/a

Rancho Santa Fe $25K

With the, oh, let's just call it a DISASTER in Monterrey (Americans winning 0 main draw matches), all seven of our NCHers come from RaNCHo Santa Fe, held the week of February 23.

CiCi Bellis won her third career title - all US $25Ks - a week ago Monday and just needs a few more points to secure a Top 200 ranking and direct entry into qualifying for the French Open and Wimbledon. It wouldn't surprise any of us, however, if she had her sights fixed higher. She seems like a determined sort. Here's a good profile of her from Tennis.com.

Bernarda Pera was a quarterfinalist and had quite the event: demolishing #2 seed Shuko Aoyama 6-2 6-0, then scraping past Lauren Embree 2-6 6-4 7-6(4). But third set tiebreaks can give, and third set tiebreaks can take away - her next match was a loss to Sanaz Marand (her second loss in 2 weeks to the former UNCer) 7-6(4) 6-4 6-7(5).

Embree, Caitlin Whoriskey, and wildcard Usue Arconada all recorded first-round wins to help their cause, while Kelly Chen and Claire Liu, both wildcards, each earned a point just for playing their matches! In Liu's case, it was the third tournament at which she'd won a point, after qualifying for $25Ks in Florence, S.C., last October and Surprise, Ariz., earlier in February. Although she has yet to win a main draw match, she's now in the rankings at 14 years old. Congratulations, Claire!

This Week in American Tennis: 11 takeaways

1. First and foremost: Congrats Great Britain. No matter what else, props to Great Britain, which beat the USA fair and square in Davis Cup this weekend, for the second straight year. From all accounts (I couldn't watch the match), James Ward played outstanding tennis to upset John Isner from 2 sets down. Andy Murray was at the top of his game, winning both his rubbers in convincing fashion, and Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot combined for a thrilling 5-set loss to the Bryan Brothers.

And the atmosphere in Glasgow was absolutely electric.

2. And yet. This is the third year in a row that the US has underperformed in a winnable tie. Back-to-back losses by our #1 player to Ward, who has yet to reach the Top 100, account for the last two years, and the Bryans' shock loss to Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac in Boise two years ago accounts for the third. Captain Jim Courier is now 5-5 in ties, and other than the miracle run 2012 run to the semifinals - when Isner somehow beat Roger Federer, Gilles Simon, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on the road on clay (and took Nicolas Almagro to 5-7 in the fifth). - it's been a series of disappointments.

There's plenty of blame to go around, but a fair amount of attention has centered on Courier. Perhaps too much of it was about his wearing a suit and tie - and yet. Clothes can be symbolic: after the US swept Switzerland in 2012, the suit was described by DavisCup.com as "testifying to a businesslike ethic that is clearly bringing the best out of the US team." Now it's pointed to as a symbol of his lack of engagement, connection to the team, etc.

Of course, for the most part this is all silly. I'd much rather focus on some of his questionable decisions, including:

• Contesting the 2014 tie against Great Britain on clay. Of course, a great part of that decision was premised on the idea that Isner had some kind of clay court Davis Cup magic, a la 2012, and when he bowed out of the tie, that looked like an extraordinarily poor choice. But Sam Querrey has had some success on clay, too. The Bryan Brothers are exceptional on the surface. And it was only James Ward, for goodness sake. (Oops.)
• Leaving Steve Johnson off the team. No, Johnson on the team (likely) wouldn't have led Isner to victory on Friday. And it's very unlikely that Johnson would have prevailed in the first rubber over Murray. But it did make you wonder why a guy like Johnson - so successful in college and higher ranked than Young - didn't get a crack at the squad. 
• The sideline demeanor. He's a laid back guy there. Davis Cup isn't a laid back competition. We're getting out-enthused. I don't think that generally leads to great results. 

And then there are his quotes. "We're not responsible for promoting [Davis Cup]" (why the heck not?) ... the Bryans are virtually a guaranteed point (except they lost 2 in a row very recently).

Given that this is a team effort, you *have* to judge everyone's value to the team, including the captain, and nothing should be taken for granted. Maybe there's a better option out there, someone who brings out exceptional efforts from his or her team every time. Or maybe there's not.

3. C'mon, tennis fans in America. Just root for America. It's not that hard. Sure, you don't like John Isner, or the style Americans generally play, or you just loooooove being a rebel. But here's the thing:

This is all a fiction. Tennis - it's not real. We're tennis fans not because it's a matter of life and death, but precisely because it isn't. It's escapism. It's drama without consequence. It's fiction.

And Davis Cup is a massive part of tennis. It's been a prominent - nay, vital - part of the sport since before ALL OF US WERE ALIVE. And the only way to really participate in Davis Cup, as a fan, is to ROOT FOR YOUR TEAM. You're from a given nation? Root for that nation! It keeps that part of the fiction alive.

Davis Cup isn't about any of the individual team members. It's about a heritage. It's the past meets the present meets the future. It's the players and the captain and the national federation and the junior hitting partners and the fans getting all riled up, like they were in Glasgow. In other countries, it's not even a question that tennis fans will support the national team. Even when there are big jerks on said team. Why is it so different here? Why can't we get over ourselves and just go with it???

So you don't like Isner. Guess what: I don't like Kobe Bryant. But will I cheer for Team Spain to beat Team USA in Olympic basketball? OF COURSE NOT! And my guess is that you won't either.

4. Dang it, why couldn't it have come down to the 5th rubber? Two years in a row we've wanted to see Donald Young play James Ward. Well, today it happened, but it was a dead rubber "won" by DY 5-7 1-0 (ret.). I think it would have been that much more exciting for everyone concerned. Note to Ward: you would have been just as much of a hero - or even more of won - if you'd saved your wins until Sundays! Have a sense of the moment, man!

5. It could get worse before it gets better. We won't know for months, but we could play Spain in September. Which could mean relegation straight out of the World Group for the first time since 1988. Some people might see that as an opportunity to start getting the Donaldsons and Kozlovs of the world in the lineup. But a country with 5 guys in the Top 60 - and a lot to prove on the international stage - should be playing World Group. Period.

6. Speaking of worse: US women in Mexico. That was bad. 1-9 over two weeks in Acapulco and Monterrey. After such a fantastic January, the last month-plus for anyone not surnamed Williams has been pretty dreadful. (On the WTA level at least. Can't forget CiCi Bellis' win in Rancho Santa Fe!)

7. Tennys is back! It's been a bit of a slog for Tennys Sandgren, who hoped to jump right back into things when he came back from injury last year, but who found himself on the losing end of too many heartbreakers. His talent wasn't the question, but his ability to finish was: since his return, including qualies, Sandgren was 22-4 in first sets, but 12-11 in second sets and 1-11 in third sets, including a four-match losing streak all of which went the distance.

So it was great to follow his week at the $15,000 Canadian F1 Futures event in Gatineau, where he beat Americans Eric Quigley, top seed Jarmere Jenkins, and Nicolas Meister; won a third set against #8 seed Matteo Donati, and then toughing out his final 6-3 7-6(7) against Canadian Philip Bester. He should rise to near #500 and with nothing to defend until the US Open. It's a good thing.

8. And there were some nice other Futures results. Alexander Sarkissian got to the Australia F2 Futures final, Meister and Daniel Nguyen reached the CAN F1 semis, and Collin Johns (who hits forehands on both sides) got to the Nicaragua F1 quarterfinals. Wins! We love wins!!

9. Had fun watching Northwestern dismantle Purdue 7-0 in men's tennis today. They've got a nice team this year, led by Sam Shropshire, Strong Kirchheimer, and Mihir Kumar. Big 10 is playing ad scoring, and to be honest I didn't mind that all 6 singles matches were over in straight sets. (Part of it was that I was waiting to take the courts myself after the matches, and didn't particularly want to wait another 45 minutes!) How about this for a compromise: no-ad for dual matches and team tournaments (except the NCAAs), ad for individual tournaments? Doubles players switch back and forth between ad and no-ad all the time. Why not singles players?

10. Indian Wells pre-qualies is kind of a neat thing, but hopefully they can fix it before next year. Half the women's seeds withdrew before the event - most of them in the bottom half, meaning Mayo Hibi got to the final without facing a ranked player, while Lauren Embree had to face Bernarda Pera and Jessica Pegula before falling to Samantha Crawford in the semis. Fortunately, Embree got a wildcard anyway, as did Crawford and Hibi. Mischa Zverev won the tournament on the men's side, beating Chase Buchanan in the semis.

11. This coming week will be boring. Serena back at Indian Wells. Mardy Fish back at Indian Wells. Jack Sock back at Indian Wells. Chris Evert back at Indian Wells. Oh, that last part is kind of amazing.

Bigger story than Serena's return? MT @ChrissieEvert @Greatgamscisco:Will you be commentating at IW?”YES!!! 1st time commentating there!
— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) March 7, 2015

Why yes, that was faved by Chrissie herself!

USA v GBR: Round 2 - Our Predictions

Last Sunday, On the Rise (a tennis blog) posted a round table discussion of the upcoming Davis Cup tie between USA and Great Britain. Now that we know each country's teams, here's each round table participant's prediction of the winner. As a special bonus, Parsa has provided a detailed analysis of each rubber at the end of this post.

Lang: With the tie in Scotland, Andy Murray will be motivated and more focused. I don’t think we will see the 55-unforced-error performances like in Dubai against 18 year old Borna Coric. Tipping Andy to take both singles matches to give Great Britain the 2 points. The Bryans’ Davis Cup experience and team chemistry should give them the edge in doubles. James Ward seems to have a knack for up showing up in DC so I would not be surprised if he scores an upset. With home field advantage, I’m going to give GBR the upper hand and say 3-2. But I hope Team Stars & Stripes can prove me wrong and avenge last year’s loss.

Patrick (who's currently in Glasgow): Bros in 4, Andy over DY in 4, Isner over Ward in 3, Andy over John in 5 and DY over Ward in 4

Baseline Bagels: I predict 3-2 Britain. Murray wins both matches and DY chokes 5th rubber. Courier fired for poor lineup choice.

Jonathan:

Murray d. Young 6-4 6-1 5-7 6-7(2) 6-3

Isner d. Ward 7-5 6-7(8) 3-6 7-6(1) 6-2

Murray/Murray d. Bryan/Bryan 6-7(3) 6-3 7-5 1-6 6-4

Isner d. Murray 7-6(10) 6-7(10) 7-5 0-6 9-7

Young d. Ward 4-6 4-6 6-4 6-4 22-20

Final: USA d. GBR 3-2.

Parsa: Overall prediction: USA: 3 Great Britain: 2

What's your guess? Vote in our poll!

Who you got: USA/GBR Davis Cup 2015

Full Parsa Overview 

We are less than a day away from the highly anticipated tie between the United States and Great Britain that will take place in Glasgow, Scotland on indoor hard courts in a rematch of last year’s first-round tie.  The lineups have been announced already, however they may be changed up to an hour before play begins. The tie will kick off Friday morning at 5 AM PT/8 AM ET and here is the schedule for this weekend’s tie:

Friday

1. Andy Murray (GB) vs (2) Donald Young (USA)
2. James Ward (GB) vs (1) John Isner 

Saturday

Dominic Inglot/Jamie Murray (GB) vs Mike Bryan/Bob Bryan (USA)

Sunday

1. Andy Murray (GB) vs (1) John Isner
2. James Ward (GB) vs (2) Donald Young

Prediction for Murray vs Young
All four meetings between Murray and Young have been in straight sets with Murray leading the H2H 3-1, the most recent match being last year’s World Group round one group match in which Murray dominated Young. Young should make this match much more competitive this time around as he currently is in outstanding form with an impressive 10-5 record in 2015 that includes a semifinal showing in Memphis as well as reaching the final in Delray Beach. Murray started the year off well as he reached the finals of the Australian Open before falling to world number one Novak Djokovic in four sets. Murray then disappointed by falling in the quarterfinals of both Rotterdam and Dubai, losing to Gilles Simon and 18-year-old Borna Coric respectively. Young won’t be able to overpower Murray with his serve or groundstrokes, but he does have a very crafty game and he has finally put together a string of consistent results. With that being said, he is going up against a two-time grand slam champion who is extremely motivated to win this tie in front of his home fans. MURRAY IN 4 SETS

Prediction for Ward vs Isner
Isner and Ward have only faced each other once and that was back in the 2009 Savannah Challenger in which Isner won in straight sets. Isner has had a horrid start to 2015 as he is 3-3 and all three losses were against players ranked outside the top-40. Meanwhile, James Ward achieved a career-high ranking of 101 in early January and just a couple weeks he qualified to the main draw of Dubai (ATP 500), before falling 4-6 4-6 to world number 13 Feliciano Lopez in the first round. Assuming Andy Murray takes care of business against Young, if Isner loses this rubber, then the tie is essentially over so this is a must-win for Isner and team USA. Indoor hard courts suit Isner’s game well and even though he hasn’t played well this year, he should be able to win a couple tie-breaks vs Ward. ISNER IN 4 SETS

Prediction for the doubles rubber
Andy Murray said it is highly unlikely that he will play in the doubles tie, so as of now it looks like it will be Inglot/J. Murray vs the Bryans. Inglot is a big server who has beaten the Bryans twice this year with his partner Florin Mergea. Jamie Murray, Andy’s older brother, is a solid doubles player who took the title in Brisbane earlier this year with John Peers. For their own standards, the Bryans haven’t played as well as they would like to so far this year, however they still do have a good 7-3 record and they won the Delray Beach Open. I expect the greatest doubles team of all the time to come out playing strong as they will look to win a vital rubber for the Americans. BRYANS IN 3 SETS

Prediction for Murray vs Isner
Murray leads the H2H 3-0 vs Isner with the most recent matchup occurring in the 2014 Cincinnati Masters round of 16 which Murray won in a third-set tie-break. Isner should be able to get a set off Murray with his big serve, but Murray is still the heavy favorite in this match as he possesses one of the best returns on tour which should be able to neutralize Isner’s serve on occasion. MURRAY IN 4 SETS

Prediction for Ward vs Young
Young and Ward never got the opportunity to face off in last year’s round one tie; they would have played each other in the fifth rubber had Sam Querrey not fallen to Ward. Young won their only meeting pretty handily 6-3 6-2 last year in Eastbourne. Ward is 9-7 in Davis Cup singles competition and Young is 0-1 with his only match being last year vs Murray. Although he will have to play in a very hostile environment featuring a British crowd that will be fully behind Ward, Young should be able to display his improved mental toughness and get the decisive victory for team USA! YOUNG IN 5 SETS