June 9th, 2017

Friday Tennis Blog: U.S. Girls Dominating at French Open; Big USTA National Campus Weekend

NEXT U.S. STARS AT ‘BOBBY CURTIS’ THIS WEEKEND

A young Andy Roddick and Bobby Curtis

Chris Evert, Jim Courier, Jennifer Capriati, Andy Roddick — more American No. 1s have emerged from the winners of the USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Championships than any other USTA section.

That pipeline will continue this weekend when the “Bobby Curtis” gets underway at the new USTA National Campus in Orlando.

Former “Bobby Curtis” singles Girls’ 14s winner (2014) Amanda Anisimova is the No. 2 seed in the junior girls’ draw at the French Open this week. Former Bobby Curtis winners Amanda Meyer (2016, Girls’ 18s) and Hurricane Tyra Black (2013, Girls’ 12s) lost in the final round of qualifying for the French Open junior girls’ draw. If you’re near Orlando this weekend check out the singles action, or watch via livestreaming on your computer or portable device provided by the USTA National Campus here. A results round-up will be posted daily following the completion of play at www.ustaflorida.com.

PINELLAS 3-TIME DEFENDING CHAMPIONS THIS WEEKEND AT MIXED 40 & OVER SECTIONALS

Last weekend’s Mixed 40 Over champs from Pinellas County

Beware Pinellas County.

Encompassing Clearwater and St. Petersburg on Florida’s West Coast, Pinellas last year finished second in the USTA Florida League Championship Cup race, edged by Broward County for the most Florida sectionals league championship wins during the season. Last weekend they picked up their first sectionals title at the USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/8.0 League Sectional Championships.

This weekend Pinellas is the three-time defending champion in the 9.0 division at the USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 7.0/9.0 League Sectional Championships, contested June 9-11 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. Pinellas won the Mixed 40 & Over 9.0 division title in 2016 (McMullen Tennis Center, Clearwater), 2015 (St. Petersburg Tennis Club) and 2014 (McMullen). Check the updated USTA Florida League Championship Cup standings here.

MISCELLANEOUS

John McEnroe, the “self-appointed commissioner of tennis,” teamed with Eurosport to film an epic comedic takedown of Margaret Court (warning: NC-17 rated with some bleeped obscenities)…The ITF Board of Directors has approved a series of Davis Cup and Fed Cup competition reforms, to possibly be finalized in a vote in August, including: Davis Cup changing to best-of-three sets, and finalists getting to host the first round the following year…French Open defending champion Garbine Muguruza wasn’t a fan of the French fans after losing to Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic, breaking down in tears in her post-match press conference: “The crowd today was a little bit tough for me. I understand — I just think that they should be a little bit more respectful. We had to stop. The chair umpire has to always calm the crowd down. I’m not here to create enemies. I mean, I love playing here. It’s not a good feeling.”…Ormond Beach’s Dave Brown was recognized as USPTA Pro of the Year for the Daytona Beach district for the fifth time in his career…Google Maps has become an early adapter in the Margaret Court controversy, already renaming the Australian Open’s Margaret Court Arena the Evonne Goolagong Arena…John McEnroe says he is the ideal coach for Nick Kyrgios because “mentally we are both a bit wacky.”…The American Tennis Association is building a headquarters and Tennis and Education Complex in South Florida, and the first person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame will be Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams.

Americans in Paris; 2 U.S. Girls in Semifinals

Whitney Osuigwe

No Americans remain in men’s or women’s singles at Roland Garros, but a possible almost-all American men’s doubles final looms as American Donald Young and partner Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico are already into the final, and American Ryan Harrison and partner Michael Venus, formerly of the U.S. and now New Zealand, are in the semis. Both teams are unseeded.

An American remains in the running for the women’s doubles title also as Bethanie Mattek-Sands, top-seeded with Czech partner Lucie Safarova, is into the semifinals. They will meet the No. 3-seeded team of Martina Hingis and Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan.

The last American boy lost Thursday when Boca Raton’s unseeded Gianni Ross fell in the quarterfinals, but the American girls are rolling with two into the semifinals. On Thursday No. 7 seed Whitley Osuigwe of Bradenton, Fla., defeated fellow American Caty McNally, and No. 6-seeded American Claire Liu upset No. 3 seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada.

Upset was No. 2-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, who lost to No. 11-seeded Russian Elena Rybakina. Osuigwe and Liu are on the opposite sides of the semifinals, keeping alive hopes for an all-American final.

They Said It

Kathy Horvath during her playing days wielding the remarkable Prince Woodie

“I don’t remember what Martina [Navratoliva] said to me, but Renee [Richards] looked at me stone cold and said, ‘You cost me my job.'”
— American Kathy Horvath who as a teenager beat Martina Navaratilova at the 1983 French Open, Navratilova’s only loss that entire season, speaking to the New York Times

“It was a chicken we called Dick The Chick. We fed it every day and then it finally turned into a rooster. It was waking us up every morning, so we had to let it run away. We took it to a farm and let it spread its wings.”
— Mike Bryan on his first pet as a child

“Is a big relationship. Is a love that you have to love and then you hate sometimes. It’s like when you marry someone.”
— Italian Francesca Schiavone on her love-hate relationship with tennis