CBSSports.com: For Serena, a win isn't a win without dramatics

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- The threats went unfulfilled. There was no brawl. There were no angry words. Serena Williams did get irritated, but only with herself.

"Because," she explained, "I wasn't very happy with my performance."

As compared to the previous time when she wasn't very happy with Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, accusing her of cheating when they faced each other the end of May in the French Open.

That's when Serena growled at Martinez Sanchez across the net, "I'm going to get you in the locker room for that."

That day Serena whipped Martinez Sanchez, on the clay court, not off it, winning in three sets. On Friday, an ocean away, Williams shook herself out of lethargy and won 6-3, 7-5 in the third round of the U.S. Open.

This one closed with a handshake, followed later by a denial from Martinez Sanchez she even heard Serena's boast three months earlier in Paris.

In the first set that day, Serena ripped a ball that virtually everybody contended hit Martinez Sanchez, meaning Williams would have won the point. But after the ball plopped back in front of Serena, Martinez Sanchez said it hit her racquet, not her body.

Serena then complained to the chair umpire, who attempted to avoid any decision.

"I said, 'Did you ask her?'" Serena said that afternoon. "He said, 'Well, she's saying it didn't happen.' I looked her dead in the eye. 'Why? Just be honest, if the ball hit you or not.' I mean, hello, it totally hit her.

"She just looked down, and I just have no respect for anybody who can't play a professional game and be just be really professional out here."

Then, having lost the argument and shortly later the set in a match she would take 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, Serena told the umpire, "She better not come to the net again."

Strong words? "Well," Williams answered, "I am from Compton, you do know ..."

We do, although Serena now is based in Florida with older sister Venus. Martinez Sanchez, 27, is from Spain.

Asked if there were a repercussion from the French incident, if that's the proper description, Martinez Sanchez said, "No. I never think about it."

You can be certain Serena hasn't stopped thinking about it. When confronted Thursday after a doubles match, she said, "The ball hit her."

On Friday, wearing a post-match T-shirt upon which was printed, "You Can't Spell Dynasty Without Nasty," Williams was less direct.

When asked if she lost respect for players whom she considered cheaters, Serena was more politician than critic. "I can only speak for me," she said. "I try to be very professional, extremely professional in my job. That's what I'm here to do, and win, I hope."

Read between the lines, or specifically interpret between the quotes. At the French, Serena sneered at Martinez Sanchez's refusal to admit guilt. "I would never do that," Williams said. "I've never done that. I've never sunk so low ... because that's all I've ever been was extremely professional to anyone I've ever played."

Implying, what, Martinez Sanchez was not? "She's a tough player," was the Williams observation on Friday. "I was just trying to go out there and do my best. And I knew I had to be serious today."

Serena's the Drama Queen. With her it's usually something. In 2003 at the French, it was the "C" word again, cheating, when eventual champion Justine Henin raised her hand while Williams was serving and later denied it. At the 2004 U.S. Open. Serena got some awful line calls while losing to Jennifer Capriati. That led to acceptance of the Hawk-Eye electronic replay system.

On Friday, Serena, defending champion in the Open, offered some histrionics when she was down 3-1 in the second set.

"I got nasty today, but to myself," was the way Serena framed it. "I was screaming to myself because I wasn't very happy with my performance ... I have my own mental issues, and everyone has to battle themselves sometimes."

Serena's autobiography, On the Line, reached bookstores a few days ago. She discusses her insecurities, the depression after sister Yetunde Price was murdered and her dealing with a muscular body she finally has come to accept and appreciate.

When someone wondered about early reviews, Serena reminded, "I've been playing this [tournament], so I've been working. I haven't had the chance to see the reviews yet. I've been doing the job that I've been doing."

Which Friday included a victory in which she got mad at herself, not the opponent.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12158741
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Diminutive Oudin making noise as next great American hope

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- She's a sporting cliche, the All-American girl, small but daring, confident but humble. She's an Irving Berlin song, a Norman Rockwell painting. Most of all, Melanie Oudin is the hope that the United States will have a part in the future of women's tennis.

Two months ago, Oudin stunned the world's No. 6 player, Jelena Jankovic, in the third round at Wimbledon, drawing attention and more than a few disparaging remarks from a skeptical Jankovic, who contended sourly of Oudin, "She doesn't have any weapons."

Whatever she has, courage, desire, the quickest feet this side of Usain Bolt -- all right, that's an exaggeration -- the 17-year-old Oudin used it to upset Elena Dementieva, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, Thursday in the second round of the U.S. Open.

And Dementieva, No. 4 in the rankings and in the seeds, the 2008 Beijing Olympic champion, was gracious, as opposed to being bitter.

"I think," Dementieva said about Oudin, "is very talented. She is not afraid to play. She was very positive, going for shots, for winners. This is just the beginning."

America can only wish. In women's tennis of late, there's been Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams and, well, the days of Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati seem about as far away as the Andromeda galaxy.

For years we've been wondering who's next, if anybody's next, since virtually every top young female player is from Russia or Serbia. It's too early yet to say, "Stop wondering," because even if Oudin is the third-best player from the United States, she's only the 70th best player in the world.

Or was before Thursday, when she picked up a lot of points in addition to picking up the spirits of people in the U.S. Tennis Association.

Oudin, from Marietta, Ga., the suburbs of Atlanta, is a mere 5-foot-6, but as the saying goes, the tennis ball doesn't know or care how big you are.

She's a hustler, in the positive sense of the word. If she were a baseball player, she'd always be taking the extra base, ramming into the catcher on close plays at the plate.

"I had to win the match," Oudin said. "[Dementieva] didn't give it to me. I played with no fear. She's expected to win. I went out and played my game."

Which is one of attacking. None of this wussy, tentative stuff. At 5-foot-11, Dementieva is half a head taller than Oudin. Yet Oudin didn't play defensively.

Asked whether she lost the match, Dementieva responded, "No, she won it."

And Oudin won the hearts of the home-country fans at her first appearance in the big house, 24,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium. First appearance as a player. Oudin had been there before, but only watching. Now she's the one being watched.

With "Believe" stamped on the outside ankle of both shoes, a suggestion of boyfriend Austin Smith, Oudin was making believers of a great many.

She did have physical problems with an aching iliotibial (IT) band on the outside of her left leg, bringing tears and a trainer who applied treatment and then a heavy wrap. But Oudin kept going.

"I had strained my IT band a little bit," she said, "and it had been getting better. I think today, kind of with everything going on, first time on Ashe, I was beating No. 4 in the world, about to beat her -- I think it just started cramping a little bit ... but I'll be fine for the next match."

Oudin said she's idolized Serena and Venus since Oudin was 7 or 8. Another she looks up to, well down to, is 5-foot-5 Justine Henin, who retired a year ago after reaching the top of the rankings.

"She proved you don't have to be 6-foot something," Oudin said of Henin, "to be No. 1 in the world."

That's a place Oudin has talked of going. It doesn't hurt to have a dream. Especially when you're a teenager. Oudin has a fraternal twin, Katherine, who, although a tennis player of sorts, is "totally opposite; she's going to college, wants to be an obstetrician."

Melanie was home-schooled, which is the way of Americans, girls or boys, who want to be a factor in tennis. The Europeans turn pro young, so if you don't want to fall behind, you've got to learn geometry by finding angles for the forehand.

"I think it's cool to be called the third-best American behind the Williams sisters," Oudin said.

Mary Joe Fernandez, the TV commentator and U.S. Fed Cup captain, sent Oudin out in a match in February and was delighted.

"She knows how to win," Fernandez said. "Once she gets hold of a point, she pretty much knows what to do."

And that's never let it go. As Jankovic and Dementieva have learned.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12153974
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Gasquet falls to Nadal, happy to be back from suspension

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- One had been in suspended animation, unable to play because of an injury. The other had been merely suspended, banned from tennis because he failed a drug test.

Tennis wasn't the only focus Wednesday as Rafael Nadal, who didn't play from early June to August because of sore knees, defeated Richard Gasquet, coming off his suspension, in straight sets.

The Gasquet case is a strange one. An independent anti-doping tribunal concluded that Gasquet had ingested 1.46 micrograms of cocaine, "no more than a grain of salt," by kissing a woman he had just met in a Miami night club in March.

A bit preposterous, perhaps, but it saved Gasquet's unfulfilled career.

His two-year suspension, imposed in May, was reduced to 2½ months, and so Wednesday, there was Gasquet in his element and a short while later out of the U.S. Open. But like one of Liz Taylor's marriages, it was nice while it lasted.

Lacking preparation and facing a man he had never beaten in six previous attempts, Gasquet was beaten 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 by Nadal.

"I don't have any pain," said a happy Nadal, who because of his absence slipped from second to third in the rankings. For a while in 2008, he had been No. 1.

If Gasquet has pain, it is mental.

"It was impossible for me," Gasquet said. "If at the beginning of the year some will [ask whether] you will win four Grand Slams or you will be tested for cocaine, for sure I will tell them I will win four Grand Slams."

Gasquet said he even stopped working on his game during his time off. "Try practicing," he said quietly. "If you have this kind of thing, you won't."

That made Wednesday's result entirely predictable. The judgments against him and later in favor of him definitely were not.

Gasquet tested positive in a urine sample in March after withdrawing from the Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne, Fla., because of a shoulder injury.

Unable to play, the 23-year-old Frenchman went with friends to a club in Miami to see a French DJ perform at a dance music festival. The tribunal pointed out that the club "was notoriously associated with use of illegal recreational drugs, including cocaine."

Gasquet told the tribunal hearing, held in London in June, that he kissed a woman known only as Pamela, and the tribunal determined it was likely she had consumed cocaine that night, although there was no direct evidence.

Also, the tribunal wrote this in its report: "We have found the player to be a person who is shy and reserved, honest and truthful, and a man of integrity and good character."

The guy went to a place notoriously associated with drug use, met a woman, started kissing her and then was judged shy and reserved?

Is it actually possible to ingest cocaine by kissing someone? One official with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said it was "highly unlikely." He did not say impossible.

As did Gasquet when asked what it was like when he was told of the suspension by the International Tennis Association. He also used "incredible."

The tribunal, apparently watching too many Alfred Hitchcock movies, said Gasquet was "on the balance of probability, contaminated with cocaine by Pamela" and therefore not significantly at fault for the doping offense.

"We take into account that the amount of cocaine in the player's body was so small that if he had been tested only a few hours later, his test result would be likely to have been negative," the tribunal ruled.

Wait until all those accused steroid users -- Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro -- find out about that.

Gasquet also argued at the hearing that his positive test came after he withdrew from Key Biscayne. Cocaine is a banned drug for athletes in competition. Of course, five-time Grand Slam winner Martina Hingis tested positive for cocaine after losing at Wimbledon and was suspended until Sept. 30, her 29th birthday.

She's finished. Gasquet is not. "I'm a tennis player," he contended. "That's my life -- to be on tour."

A Wimbledon semifinalist in 2007, crushing Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals and then, of course, losing to Roger Federer in the semis, Gasquet has a wicked one-handed backhand, rare in modern tennis if not unique.

With only one event since April, he was overmatched against Nadal on Wednesday, explaining, "It's hard to play well, to be fit, to be ready, especially when you have to play against a guy like Nadal."

The discussion of suspension and absence continued until a U.S. Tennis Association official ordered, "Only questions about the tennis."

What questions? Gasquet was down 3-0 like that, lost the first set in 35 minutes and lost the match in 1 hour, 41 minutes.

The ITF and World Anti-Doping Association want his penalty reinstated. Despite the specious evidence in his favor, that's doubtful.

"In my mind, I'm happy," Gasquet said. "I can play on center court. I saw the last two Grand Slams [French Open and Wimbledon] on TV. Even though I lost here, I'm happy to get to play."

You might say he hasn't kissed off the season.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12148571
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports: They're Having a Ball in New York

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

NEW YORK -- Last week it was Tiger. This week it's Serena, Venus and Roger. It's always Alex. This is the place where the ball's always bouncing, along fairways, on hard courts, down the third base line.

This is place where the fans don't miss a thing, especially if Andy Roddick misses a forehand or Jerry Hairston misses a grounder.

This the place where the headlines call teams the Bombers or the Amazin's, the Jints or Gang Green. This is the place where you can buy a fake Rolex on the street or buy the real Brooklyn Bridge in a tourist trap.

Everything goes in New York. Anything goes in New York.

The front page in the Daily News was more of a declaration: "When Khadafy comes to New York this month, we should throw him straight into prison.'' The back page head, over a picture of Hairston fumbling the grounder that ended Andy Pettitte's perfect game, was "BAD HAIR DAY."

Baseball matters here. Fifteen years ago, 1994, the sport had gone into suspended animation. The players called a strike in August, the owners cancelled the World Series in September. We were told symbolically, if not directly, that everything we believed in was a mirage.

If they could wipe out the Series after 90-something years, then why care?

But the game survived, even flourished. We're told the McGwire-Sosa home run chase of '98 was what brought back the fans, re-established the interest, and while that's not untrue, New York also played its part.

This is where the Babe and the Iron Horse played. Where Jackie Robinson joined the majors. Where the term "Subway Series'' became part of the lexicon.

New York, with its ethnic diversity, where the kids grew up playing stickball, always was baseball country. Still is. If not at the expense of any other sport.

The Barclays golf tournament was played last weekend across New York Harbor, with the State of Liberty visible from the course. The big guns --  Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington -- showed up, although Heath Slocum won.

Twenty-four hours later, across the bay, a U.S. Open began. The second one in the region in two and half months. That one was the golf Open, out on Long Island. This is the tennis Open, a rollicking two weeks of day and night competition.

Sellout after sellout, matches that begin at 11 a.m., matches -- such as Andy Roddick's win over Bjorn Phau, Monday night to Tuesday morning -- that end at 12:45 a.m. New Yorkers love it. If not quite as much as they love their baseball.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams, the defending champions, opened the Open on Monday afternoon, but the tabloids went with the Yankees, who were down in Baltimore.

"CLOSE BUT NO PERFECTO!'' said the Post on its back page ‘"Awesome Andy,'' proclaimed Newsday, alluding to Pettitte's performance. And, course, the Daily News went after Hairston, who made the error that for a time will exist in infamy.

The Yanks, the Bronx Bombers, own this region during spring and summer. If it's not Alex Rodriguez who's being featured, it's Derek Jeter. The Mets, the Other Team, attract attention only for their foibles, and there have been plenty.

Omar Minaya is the Mets' general manager, and now he's been trashed as much for his failure to make a point clearly in interviews as for the failure of his team.

Minaya's language didn't matter when the Mets were winning, wrote Bob Raissman in the News, but now he must communicate how to correct the problems and he is incapable. A bit unfair, but this is New York, where imperfection of any sort is almost sinful.

Whether you're allowing a ground ball to dribble under your glove or fumbling syntax before a microphone.

In New York, virtually or actually, there's no place to hide. From the Battery to the Bronx, the Hudson River to Queens, you're always in somebody's headlights. Or, as Roddick was in the wee small hours, somebody's stadium lights.

The other night, Venus Williams was down 5-4 in the second set against Vera Dushevina after having lost the first set and was serving to stay in the match. The crowd was roaring.

"One of those great New York moments,'' said Venus, who went on to a three-set victory.

One of those New York moments of which a full explanation might be available from A-Rod or Omar Minaya, if with opposing viewpoints.

"It must be love'' is the promotional double-entendre slogan of the Open. Love or hate, with the attention, it must be New York, where you can hit a forehand, a home run and the jackpot at any time.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/09/01/theyre_having_a_ball_in_new_york_96468.html
© RealClearSports 2009

CBSSports.com: New York version of Grand Slam all about fun, entertainment

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- They've made it here. It doesn't matter if they can make it anywhere else.

The United States Tennis Association found the formula to mine gold, to make history, to have a tournament that's an event, noisy, boisterous and, as Andy Roddick verified at 12:45 a.m. ET Tuesday, virtually never-ending.

Truly, there's nothing like it. Other than the corner of 42nd and Broadway. Or 57th and Lexington. Or other intersections in Manhattan.

Wimbledon is quiet lawns and British reserve. The French Open, Roland Garros, is clay courts and long rallies. The U.S. Open is a crowded, rollicking 14 days of celebrity watching, T-shirt selling, latte sipping, beer guzzling, pastrami chewing and great shot-making.

Night and day it goes. Day and night. Seemingly no sooner had Roddick departed in the wee hours than Julia Goerges and 2004 women's singles champion Svetlana Kuznetsova were arriving for their 11 a.m. start. Less than an hour and a half later, Kuznetsova was a 6-3, 6-2 winner.

On to Arthur Ashe Court came the No. 1 women's seed, Dinara Safina, and an Australian named Olivia Rogowska, ranked 167th in the world. And on to the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center came thousands of fans, great gobs of them standing in the bright sunshine outside the stadium, in front of the fountain and watching on the big TV screen as Rogowska took a 3-0 lead in the third set.

Screams and gasps. How could this be happening, the top seed getting beat in the first round? By the time anyone else figured it out, Safina had figured it out, slipping by Rogowska, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.

"I try to do something good," said Safina, the Russian, who, despite never having won a Grand Slam event is atop the women's rankings, "but when it doesn't go good, then I go like too much into myself, what I'm doing right, wrong, instead of thinking what I have to do with the ball."

Which, of course, is hit it over the net to places where Rogowska can't hit back over the net.

Then, echoing Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, Safina mused that she had made it to the next round "and tomorrow is another day."

Sometimes at the Open, it's difficult to separate yesterday, today and tomorrow. You know the line, about waking up in the city that never sleeps. What about not going to bed at all?

For years they've been writing songs about late hours in New York, "... When a Broadway baby says good night it's early in the morning ..." It's hard to say if the milkman was on his way when Roddick said good night -- do they still have people who deliver milk? -- but presumably some people were on their way to work.

There were some opening-night ceremonies with famous types, including the former basketball player David Robinson, and by the time Venus Williams and Vera Dushevina began, it was almost 8 o'clock.

When they finished, Venus staggering through in three sets, it was almost 11. And Roddick and his opponent, Bjorn Phau, still were waiting.

"The later the better," Roddick would say. "You know what it is. It's just something that's always been there in New York. It's tough sometimes. It's all part of it, kind of the crazies who stay 'til 1 in the morning. There's something fun about that."

Fun is an appropriate word for the Open. And lunacy. Tennis often is thought as a dispassionate activity for the elite. But here they've turned it into around-the-clock entertainment.

James Blake has a cheering section, the "J Block." Sam Querrey, the kid from Southern California who Tuesday beat Michael Yani, is shouted on by his "Samurai."

The famous Carnegie Deli has a booth here, and the lineup for one of those monster corned beef sandwiches is almost as long as it is to get on to Court 13, where Tuesday the lineup included Fernando Verdasco, the No. 10 seed, who defeated B. Becker -- Benjamin, not Boris.

Ralph Lauren Polo is the official clothing outfitter for the Open, but Nike and LaCoste, which Roddick wears, are well represented. If unofficially.

Nike is not allowed to use the phrase U.S. Open on its attire, so the stuff has subtle references such as "New York 2009." A T-shirt with those words costs $22, while a Nike model with "RF" (for Roger Federer) runs $40.

The New York Post had its fashion reporter, one Anahita Moussavian, critique the clothing and jewelry on display by the competitors. The observations were hardly positive.

Moussavian called Serena Williams' choice of basic black for night matches "misguided" and described Roddick's shirts and shorts as "a double fault ... it's boring."

She's entitled to her opinion, but if there's any description that never should be applied to the U.S. Open, it's "boring." On the contrary. For two weeks, the Open might be the most exciting place in the country.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12143436
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Young Britton in awe facing great Federer in first round

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- You've had those dreams. You blow a fastball past Albert Pujols. You do a double-pump to leave Kobe Bryant hanging in the air, helpless. You whip a backhand past Roger Federer and are up 3-1 in the second set.

And then you wake up. Or as happened Monday to a kid named Devin Britton, in a surrealistic opening-round match of the 2009 U.S. Open, Roger Federer wakes up. So much for dreaming.

"I was thinking," said Britton, "I'm up a break. This is awesome. Then it only lasted about 30 seconds."

Then Federer won the next six games as the No. 1 player should against an 18-year-old who is ranked No. 1,370 in the world. Federer defeated Britton, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.

The match was a mismatch. And yet it wasn't.

Britton, 18, won the NCAA singles title last May during the one semester he spent in college, at Mississippi. Invited to the Open as a wild card, he had what could be considered either the good fortune or the misfortune to be put in the draw against Federer, who has won the championship the previous five years.

When told Thursday he had drawn the great Federer, who has a record 15 Grand Slam titles, Britton at first thought it was a joke. Any laughter was muted.

Britton, as all of us, had seen Federer on television. "He looked unbelievable," Britton said of watching from afar.

Then after a pause, the kid added, "But when you play him, he's even more tough."

A day earlier, Britton had practiced with Rafael Nadal, who was ranked No. 1 before being unable to play in June and July because of bad knees. Nothing grandiose bounced around Britton's mind, but after hitting against Nadal, maybe, Britton hoped, he could pull off a shot here or there against Federer.

In a way, he failed. In a way, he succeeded.

"My goal," Britton said candidly, "was not to get crushed."

He didn't. Or did he? Federer won the first set in 18 minutes, which is less time than it takes the 7 train to go from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows back to Manhattan.

"It was hard not to think about who I was playing," Britton conceded. "He plays such a pretty game. It's fun to watch. I didn't start thinking about my own game until late in the second set."

Britton did break Federer once in each of the last two sets, an indication that either Britton has a future or Federer has a heart, not that Roger is going to ease up in his quest for another championship.

"Try to win again," Federer answered when someone asked about his motivation now that he already has been described as the best in history. "I like being the winner of any tournament in the world. That's why, when I enter, I try to win."

If the words sound more than vaguely familiar, echoing those of Tiger Woods, that would be understandable. Federer and Tiger both are served by the same agency, IMG, and both often express admiration for the other.

On this afternoon, any admiration expressed was by Britton, who first signed a professional contract in June at Wimbledon, where he reached the semifinals. Of the junior championships.

And suddenly there he was Monday, standing dumbstruck across from the elegant Swiss with "RF" on his jacket and tennis in his wake.

"It was pretty scary," said Britton, who at least has a sense of humor -- or of reality. "I was pretty scared."

Fear, excitement, it's a wonder Britton made it through three sets, remarkable he broke Federer in two of the three sets.

"The extended changeovers, I had time to think about it," Britton said of the one-minute breaks. "It was pretty much all I was thinking about. You know, this is pretty cool. I was sitting here on [Arthur] Ashe Court and playing Federer. This is awesome."

Also instructional. Britton said he realized he would need to get stronger, would need to develop a bigger serve, would need to improve his forehand -- although he also knows there is no duplicating the famous Federer forehand.

"I think he serves unbelievably well," Britton said of Federer. "I don't think a lot of people realize how big he serves."

The forehand, the one that is able to place a ball virtually anywhere at any time? Like someone poking his hand into the lion cage at the zoo, Britton masochistically wanted to see how much he could poke around without getting eaten.

"His forehand is just crazy," said Britton, bringing laughter to the media group. "I tried to keep it away, but sometimes I just hit [the ball] there just to see it."

What Federer wants to see is a few more trophies. He finally won the French in June, then took Wimbledon for the sixth time. A sixth consecutive U.S. championship would equal the mark of the late Bill Tilden in 1920-25.

"I've beaten the all-time Grand Slam record," Federer said. "That's not what tennis is all about. I don't think if you ask the other players, their goal is to win 16 Slams now. ... You can have different types of goals. Mine are at a very high level. That's just the difference."

As Devin Britton, his newest victim and latest fan, understands quite well.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12138434
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Woods shoots 71, odds triple in rough first day at Open

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

TURNBERRY, Scotland -- The money couldn't be turned over fast enough. The pounds, each of them worth $1.77, were being wagered on Tiger Woods with such eagerness that Britain's betting paper, the Racing Post, headlined it as "a feeding frenzy."

Tiger was a virtual 2-1 favorite when he stepped to the first tee Thursday to hit first shot of the 138th British Open, and nobody else, not Sergio Garcia, not Steve Stricker, not two-time defending champion Padraig Harrington, was better than 20-1.

The odds changed dramatically by the time Tiger made it to the rolling 18th green of Turnberry's enticing links. Woods not only wasn't leading the tournament, he wasn't even leading the other two players in his threesome, one of them 17-year-old Japanese prodigy Ryo Ishikawa, the other Englishman Lee Westwood.

The odds on that happening were rather large. Mr. Woods, who came in with a 1-over-par 71, which put him down below the top 60, was a 1-2 favorite to beat Ishikawa and Westwood.

Which he didn't do, both of them coming in with 2-under 68s. And which made El Tigre perhaps the most unhappy laddie on the west coast of Scotland, if not the entire country.

Tiger was his usual repetitious and non-committal self when asked exactly that happened on a day when the wind didn't blow, the rain never fell and the temperature at the real Turnberry -- this one -- might have been confused with that of the reasonable facsimile, Turnberry in Florida.

You not only could see the sun, you could see Ailsa Craig, that mammoth rock off 10 miles into the Firth of Clyde, and not even think about the local axiom: "If ye can't see Ailsa Craig, it's raining; if ye can see Ailsa Craig, it's going to rain."

It figuratively rained on Tiger's out-of-step parade. He had four bogeys, of which one actually was quite impressive.

Woods hit his approach on the 455-yard par-4 16th, named "Wee Burn," into the burn, or stream, which doesn't seem so "wee." After a penalty drop, he chipped close and one-putted. Otherwise he would have had a double bogey.

Tiger's post-round analysis consisted of a not-surprising litany, words we have heard more than once at majors since Woods returned from the left knee ACL surgery that kept him out from June 2008 to February 2009.

"Well," he said, "I certainly made a few mistakes out there. Realistically, I probably should have shot about 1 or 2 under par. But I made a few mistakes, and consequently I'm at 1 over."

Then he pointed out he would be going to the driving range to correct those mistakes.

There's a pattern here, and one Tiger needs to break. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March two weeks before the Masters and finished sixth at Augusta. He won the Memorial two weeks before the U.S. Open and finished sixth at Bethpage. Two weeks before this Open Championship, he won the AT&T in Washington.

"On the range," Woods said of his warmup, "my misses were to the right. And I tried not to miss it to the right on 3. I didn't do that. Consequently I hit it left."

After the shot, he took a swipe at the teeing ground and mumbled something under his breath. By round's end, he had tossed away his clubs a few times. He expected more of himself. So did everyone, especially the guys making the odds.

"The misses I had were the same shots I was hitting on the range," Woods said. "So I need to go to work on that and get it squared away."

With 54 holes remaining, Woods isn't exactly finished, even if the bookmakers revised the numbers upward, placing him at 6-1. You only wish waiters over here could serve half as quickly as the odds are posted.

Before 2005, Tiger had not finished first in a major when he didn't shoot par or better the first round, but that stat has become irrelevant, sort of like those six-foot deep bunkers at Turnberry without any breeze to knock down shots.

Woods now has three major titles when he began over par, the '05 Masters and the last two of his total 14, the '07 PGA and the '08 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, the one he took on a leg and half and a lot of courage.

The other day, after a practice round, Tiger said Turnberry is a course where "you can't fake it." There was no faking the first round of the 2009 Open, just enough bad shots to change the odds -- if not Tiger's continued place as the favorite.

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http://www.cbssports.com/golf/story/11960022
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

SF Examiner: In Britain, every contest overflows with emotion

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

LONDON — Maybe they have the right idea here. Sports are not merely fun and games, items to be covered dispassionately — Giants, win; Raiders sign tackle — but reflections of history.

In Britain, even the smallest of competitions invariably are “us against them.”

“Them” can be a sporting club in the next town. Or Tiger Woods. Or at the moment, with The Ashes at stake in a cricket competition which extends back to 1877, Australia — a nation which started as an English penal colony.

One of England’s stars, Kevin Pietersen, made the most banal of comments, alluding to the Aussies down a couple of stars from past teams which, of course, whupped the English. “Pietersen Expects Australia to Come Out Fighting,” said the headline in the Telegraph.

All sports news is reported subjectively and patriotically, reminding one of that line about the World War II general, Bernard Montgomery, of whom Winston Churchill said, “In defeat unbeatable; in victory unbearable.”

Nobody simply is beaten here, say as Randy Johnson when he was injured on Sunday. Losers are “brave” or “hopeless” or “worthless.” Or worse, were “cheated.” Somebody always is “accusing” an opponent of an impropriety.

We have our issues, certainly, the Tuck Play (it was a fumble), but not like the Brits. When South Africa beat the British Lions in rugby a few days ago it was because one of the South African players gouged the eye of a Brit.

“Question,” asked The Sun, “When can you gouge? Answer, when you turn out for South Africa.” The Sun went on to point out, “South Africa’s ruling body covered up Schalk Burger’s eye-gouging shame.” Burger was listed as “a thug.”

So, with a variation on that theme, we describe the Warriors as pathetic, the 49ers as clueless, the A’s as disgraceful, the Raiders as mortifying. We say the Giants warn the Dodgers about using Manny. That might get some attention.

And we take sides, as they do when Andy Murray, the tennis star, is at Wimbledon. “Hopes of a nation are with you, Andy.” Sure, “Hopes of a region are with you, Cal.” (Excepting those people at Stanford.)

The reverse was when on a single weekend a few years ago, England flops in World Cup soccer, cricket, track and who knows what else, “We’re Rubbish,” proclaimed the Daily Mail.

Imagine the English tabloid headlines on our flawed franchises. “Sell them Chris, if you know what’s good for you.” “Please don’t let the Sharks near the playoffs again.” “Why can’t Sabean find a slugger?”

Newspapers are in trouble in Britain, as the United States, but like the Aussie cricketers, they come out fighting, battling for readers the way the English did at Bunker Hill, or was it Henman Hill at Wimbledon?

Every contest is a matter of pride. Of good and evil. Of overflowing emotion. When Ana Ivanovic quit against Venus Williams at Wimbledon because of an injury, the Sun headline was “Venus sad for hurt Ana.” And about Andy Roddick’s upcoming quarter-final against Lleyton Hewitt, “Rod warns: Lleyt is great.”

But not as great as the people who write sports in England. Be warned, they are not rubbish.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/In-Britain-every-contest-overflows-with-emotion-50194442.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

CBSSports.com: Booming Roddick brings out best in great Federer

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- The match that seemed endless ended too soon for Andy Roddick. If the man who beat him in one of the greatest Wimbledon men's finals isn't the finest tennis player in history, he'll do for a long while.

Roger Federer proved he has courage and staying power, as well as some of the finest strokes ever, by hanging on to defeat Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 on a Sunday when Centre Court couldn't take much more suspense.

The victory was Federer's 15th in a Grand Slam, the game's Big Four, separating him from Pete Sampras, with whom he had been tied and who, after an overnight flight from Los Angeles, was in the stands to watch his record fall.

"Thanks for coming, Pete," said Federer, the 27-year-old Swiss. "It's such a pleasure to do it in front of such great legends."

Besides Sampras, the famed royal box included Bjorn Borg, Manolo Santana, Ilie Nastase and Rod Laver, champions all who had come to see whether Federer could produce on demand.

And despite Roddick -- the American doomed to become the other man in these dramas, having now lost to Federer three times in a Wimbledon final -- Roger managed to do what was needed.

"My head is still spinning," Federer said after a match that, because there are no tiebreakers in the fifth set at Wimbledon, went 4 hours, 18 minutes.

The 16-14 set, which required 1 hour, 35 minutes, is said to be the longest fifth in a Slam, bypassing the 11-9 in the 1927 French Open, when Rene LaCoste defeated Bill Tilden. Talk about legends.

Roddick will not be spoken of with those two, or with Federer, who beat him for the 19th time in 21 meetings, eight of those in Slams, four at Wimbledon.

Rather, he will be discussed as the unfortunate individual who came along at the wrong time, the guy who did everything possible except overtake Federer.

It seemed he might in this third consecutive Wimbledon final to go five sets -- Rafael Nadal beat Federer last year -- Roddick let his chances get away. Or maybe Federer, as winners do, grabbed them.

Asked if he lost to the world's greatest tennis player, Roddick sighed, "Yeah."

In the second set, Roddick led Federer 6-2 in the tiebreak and at 6-5 had a volley to win the set. But the shot was wide, and Federer, with six consecutive points, went on to even the match at one set apiece.

"There was a pretty significant wind behind him," Roddick said of the shot, which went wide. "When he first hit it, I thought I wasn't going to play it. Last minute, it looked like it started dropping. I couldn't get my racket around on it."

Federer ended up winning the tiebreak 8-6 and in time he would win his sixth Wimbledon.

There was no falling on his knees this time. Rather, when Roddick shanked the final shot, Federer leaped like some NBA player about to hit a dunk shot.

"I'm sorry, Pete," Roddick said, addressing Sampras with his typical flippancy. "I tried to hold him off. But it was a pleasure playing here today. Pete, Manolo, I still hope someday my name will be up there with theirs as a winner of this tournament.

"But I just want to say congratulations to Roger. He is a true champion and deserves everything he gets."

In the great dream here, the men's final of the All England Lawn Tennis Championships would have been between Federer and the Scot, Andy Murray. In anticipation, some people paid $2,000 to $3,000 for tickets.

Maybe the Brits didn't get what they wanted, but you can get what you need, as the Rolling Stones sing -- and you can't get much more English than they are. What tennis always needs is a final full of drama, a final in which every point is critical.

That's what happened Sunday.

Roddick used more than his powerful serve -- his fastest was 143 mph -- to stay even with Federer. He wasn't broken once until the very last point of the match, holding serve the first 37 times. But Federer won the tiebreakers and eventually the match and the title.

In the fifth set, when the score got to 14-13, it seemed as if somebody had missed an extra point rather than a first serve.

In somewhat of a reversal of expectations, Roddick was strong in rallies, Federer on serves.

"He served great," Roddick said. "If he hadn't served as well, I'd probably be sitting here in a better mood." Federer had 50 aces, Roddick only 27.

When asked what makes Federer what he is, Roddick shrugged. "I don't know where to start," he said. "He makes it real tough. He was having trouble picking up my serve today for the first time ever. He just stayed the course.

"You didn't even get the sense he was really frustrated. He gets a lot of credit for a lot of things, but not how many matches he digs deep and toughs it out. He doesn't get a lot of credit for that because it looks easy for him a lot of times."

It wasn't easy. "This could have gone on two more hours," said Federer. He already was wearing a warmup jacket with a golden "15" on the back.

That puts him one ahead of Sampras, of course, and 14 ahead of Roddick, whose only Slam victory came in the 2003 U.S. Open. For a while, the way he played, the way he battled, there was a thought he could wrench away a second.

But when someone asked him to describe what he did, Roddick could only say, "I lost."

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11925724
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

Newsday.com: Serena beats Venus for her third Wimbledon title

BY ART SPANDER
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England - She's a tennis player again. The champion again. The Serena Williams who wanted to dabble in television and fashion is now back on the stage she knows best and back on top. Who said there are no second acts in American lives?

Serena won the battle of the Williams sisters, the battle of Wimbledon, defeating her older sibling, Venus, 7-6 (3), 6-2, Saturday in the women's final.

This was Serena's 11th major singles title and, starting with the U.S. Open last September, her third in the last four. She's missing only the French, where she made it to the quarterfinals.Not long ago, television commentator Mary Carillo reminded her audience that an athlete, in this case Serena, would regret not taking advantage of her peak years.

But now Serena is looking forward again. At 27, she is talking about competition for another three or four years. She's back where she was in 2003 and 2004. In fact, she's better than she was in '03 and '04.

"I've played a lot this year, and I've paid the price. I've really just wanted to focus on tennis, and I've really been doing that.''

What she did to Venus, who had won 20 straight matches, 34 straight sets, two straight Wimbledons and a total of five overall, was keep her moving, slugging forehands to the corners. Then Serena won the first-set tiebreak, reminiscent of the U.S. Open quarterfinals, where she beat Venus with two tiebreakers.

"When I went out on court, I felt this was one of the few times I didn't expect to come out with the win. I felt I had nothing to lose. Then when I won that first set, I was like, 'Wow, this is great.' No matter what, I'm a set away.''

Venus again had wads of tape on her left leg to protect a knee her father, Richard, said was a problem but which she refused to discuss. "I think I played well,'' Venus said, noticeably dispirited, "but she just seemed to play better. There's no easy way of losing, especially when it's so close to the crown.''

This was the fourth time Serena had beaten Venus in a major final and the 11th time Serena had beaten Venus of the 21 matches they have played overall.

"In the tiebreak,'' Venus said, "I would play a good shot, and she'd just hit a winner off of it or put me in a position where she could hit another winner.''

In other words, despite predictions, Serena controlled the match, not Venus, who conceded in the second set she began to rush her shots. "I think I lost it from the ground [strokes],'' was Venus' analysis.

There was a brief rain shower about an hour before the 2 p.m. (British summer time) start, but after tarps were placed on court, the sun came out, and there was no thought of utilizing the new roof.

What Venus could have utilized was that big serve, but as she mentioned a few days ago, against Serena her 127-mph serve often comes flying back.

"It feels so amazing," Serena said after being presented the trophy, called coincidentally the Venus Rosewater Dish. "I can't believe I'm holding it and Venus isn't in. She always wins.''

Serena has won three of the past four major singles titles, though when the world rankings come out tomorrow, she will be No. 2 to Dinara Safina, whom Venus destroyed in the semifinals.

"If you hold three Grand Slam titles, maybe you should be No. 1, but not on the WTA Tour, obviously," Serena said.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/ny-spwimb0512943939jul04,0,2073030.story
Copyright © 2009, Newsday Inc.

CBSSports.com: In all-Williams final, little sister has all the answers

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- It was the little sister who came up big. It was Serena Williams who made the shots, made the comments and, with a T-shirt that offered both a laugh and a reference to her greatness, made everyone understand she has a sense of humor as well as a brilliant forehand.

Venus Williams was the defending champion. Venus Williams was going for her sixth Wimbledon singles title. Venus Williams was the favorite. Venus Williams, however, came in second in a two-sister battle at Centre Court.

In truth, it was less a battle than a romp. For Serena, that is, who defeated Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 on a Saturday of great potential and disappointing outcome. Not in who won, since both the Williams are champions, but in how Serena won.

Venus was going for a third straight title. Venus had won 20 straight matches at Wimbledon, 34 straight sets. Then she lost two straight sets. In 1 hour, 28 minutes.

"She had an answer for everything," Venus said of Serena.

But we had no answers for what happened to Venus, who again wore tape to brace a left knee her absent father Richard -- he had flown home to Florida to avoid watching daughter against daughter -- said was a problem but of which Venus, stubbornly in denial, said, "I have no complaints."

She no longer has the trophy that carries her name, the Venus Rosewater Dish, given the champion. For the third time, but the first time in six years, that belongs to 27-year-old Serena, who came to the news conference in a T-shirt that read, "Are you looking at my titles?"

"Well," explained a particularly jovial Serena, in full commercial mode, "this shirt is available at Nike stores, if you guys want to go get one. I thought [Friday] night, when I was getting my stuff together, if I win, I'll wear this because I would have 11 titles and I wouldn't know if you were looking at my titles or my Gatorade bottle."

Hey, it's been a great few years. She's entitled to have some fun. Serena has won three of the last four Slams, the U.S. Open in September, Australian Open in February and now in July, Wimbledon, her 11th Slam overall.

After Thursday's semis, in which Serena saved match point against Elena Dementieva, she said, "Obviously, Venus is the favorite." And Serena conceded when she walked out on Centre Court, "This is one of the few times I didn't expect to come out with the win."

So she played a gambling style, using her big serve, ripping forehands into the corners. Never was broken. And then after winning the first set on a tiebreaker (she had beaten Venus in the U.S. Open quarters on two tiebreakers) took advantage of Venus' suddenly ineffective serve and lack of movement.

"I felt like I had nothing to lose," said Serena. "When I won that first set, I was like, 'Wow, this is great.' No matter what, I'm a set away."

They are siblings, but they are not alike. Serena shows her emotions, tells you what she's thinking. Venus is the mystery lady, revealing very little.

On the BBC telecast, Tracy Austin said Venus' second serve was "slower and predictable." In the interview room later, Venus said, "I don't agree on that; [Serena] had a hard time stepping into my second serve."

Venus did concede she played too far behind the baseline in the second set when she was broken twice, the second time on match point.

"I tried my best," said 29-year-old Venus. "She just played so well. She really lifted her game. There's no easy way of losing, especially when it's so close to the crown.

"She played great, especially in the tiebreak. I don't think I did too many things wrong in the tiebreak. Just, I would hit a good shot, and she would hit a winner off it or put me in position where she could hit another winner."

The sisters have played six times in Grand Slam finals. Serena has won four. The sisters have played 21 times overall. Serena has won 11.

Serena is No. 2 in the women's rankings, behind Dinara Safina, who was crushed 6-1, 6-0 by Venus in the Wimbledon semis. The points system is skewed, and confusing.

"I'd rather be No. 2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any," Serena insisted. Then with a bit of a needle she added, "I see myself as No. 2. That's where I am. I think Dinara did a great job to get to No. 1. She won Rome and Madrid."

A couple of years back, injuries and boredom had an effect on Serena, who didn't play a great deal and didn't do well when she was playing.

"I feel like I've played a lot this year and I've paid the price," said Serena. "For several years now, three or four years, I just really wanted to focus on tennis, and I've really been doing that. I feel like this is where I want to be, and this is my chance to capitalize on everything."

In the Wimbledon women's final of 2009, no question she certainly capitalized on her big sister.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11923402
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Roddick gains independence from doubt in banner Wimbledon for U.S.

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com 

WIMBLEDON, England -- He was overlooked and underestimated. Andy Roddick was considered of another generation. Time and tennis supposedly had passed him by. "Some people," he said, "were not giving me much of chance."

But it wasn't so much what anyone gave him. It was what Roddick took. He played tennis the way Pete Sampras and the Aussies like Rod Laver used to play it, going to the net, going for the jugular. And now, in a surprise, he's going to the Wimbledon final.

The Fourth of July, the celebration of America's independence from England. It's not a holiday over here. They had hoped to make it one, for another reason.

They had hoped Andy Murray would give them Britain's first men's singles finalist in 71 years and their first men's singles champion in 73 years. But it's not to be because of Roddick.

Wave the stars and stripes. Fly the flag, as they say here.

Roddick, the 26-year-old, the over-the-hill guy, beat Murray, the Scot -- "The Hero," as the tabloid Sun called him -- 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) Friday in what must be considered an upset.

So Roddick gets to the final for the third time but for the first time in four years where, for better or worse on Sunday, he'll face the great Roger Federer.

Federer will be playing in the Wimbledon final a seventh straight year, which never had been accomplished -- but they've only been playing here since 1877 -- and the final of a Grand Slam event a 15th time of the last 16 opportunities. He had the expected easy time against Tommy Haas, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3.

Federer has five Wimbledon titles, all in a row, 2003-07, a streak stopped last year by Rafael Nadal. One more, at Wimbledon or at the U.S. Open, wherever, and Roger, the 27-year-old Swiss, breaks the tie with Sampras and wins his record 15th Grand Slam title.

"I'm very proud of all the records I've achieved," said Federer, "because I never thought I could be successful as a kid."

Not many people, Roddick included, thought Roddick could again be successful after last year. But he joins Serena and Venus Williams, who meet in Saturday's women's final, as poignant voices of American tennis.

Three of the four singles finalists are from the U.S., and Venus and Serena will team up in the women's doubles final, also Saturday. Maybe someone besides the Russians can play the game.

When Roddick, who won the 2003 U.S. Open and then eventually lost to Federer in the '04 and '05 Wimbledon finals, was stunned by Janko Tipsarevic in the second round at Wimbledon in 2008, he wasn't sure he could play it anymore.

"Oh yeah," he answered when someone asked Roddick if he doubted he again could get as far as a Grand Slam final. "That was a hard couple of weeks."

Referring to his bride of four months, Brooklyn, then his fiancée, Roddick explained, "Brook and I had a lot of talks if I thought I could still play and at least be toward the top of the game. I definitely questioned [that]. The rest of the year I was kind of hurt."

He connected with a new coach, Larry Stefanki, who played at Cal and is married to one of the daughters of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie. Roddick made new commitments, to diet, to work, to getting to bed early.

"I gave myself every opportunity to succeed," he said.

Murray, 22, had every opportunity to succeed this week. And the pressure of a nation desperately wanting him to succeed. "Beam Us Up, Andy," was the headline in Friday's Sun. Another, in the Times, was, "Andy is fighting for his life and will not give up."

The front pages of the dailies were all on Michael Jackson, the back pages on Andy Murray. But in the battle of the Andys -- "Andymonium," someone called it -- Roddick survived, and on match point he fell to his knees and grabbed his head.

"I didn't know," Roddick would sigh, "if I'd ever get a chance of playing for another Grand Slam title. But make no mistake, I've been a much better player than I was last year."

Against Murray, Stefanki advised Roddick, normally a baseline player, went to the net, like grasscourt players of the past.

"He came up with some good volleys," Murray said of Roddick. "I mean, he makes volleys. He normally doesn't miss a lot. You have to make [passing shots], and I didn't make as many as I needed. But he serves so well, it makes it even more important for you to serve well. If you don't do that, he's going to create chances, because he came to the net a lot today."

Federer has an 18-2 record against Roddick and has beaten him in three Grand Slam finals -- '04 and '05 here, '06 in the U.S. Open.

"I think if he serves like he did, 130 miles an hour, [a percentage] in the high 70s, 80, regardless of whether it's Roger or me or anybody else, [Roddick's] got a good chance," Murray said.

At least he has a chance. He's in the final. Not a bad couple of days for the USA.
 
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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11920629
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Venus, Serena support for each other will take Saturday off

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- Still the big sister. Venus Williams made that clear. As before, she made clear how overwhelming she can be on the lawns of Wimbledon, her little Edens in the chaos of big-time tennis.

She's back, like the shark in Jaws. Venus is back, in the final once more, playing Serena Williams once more Saturday, the Fourth of July, perfect for two Americans.

Almost as perfect as Venus was in destroying the player seeded first, the player first in the women's rankings, dumbfounded Dinara Safina.

"I think," sighed Safina, "she's just too good on grass. She gave me a pretty good lesson today."

Venus needed only 51 minutes for what was less a match than a mismatch in one of Thursday's two semifinals.

Serena didn't have it quite as easy or swift. She was one shot away from losing to Elena Dementieva, who like Safina is Russian. But Dementieva couldn't make that shot, a cross-court backhand, in the 10th game of the third set, and Serena finished a 6-7, 7-5, 8-6 winner.

The shortest set in that one was only a minute less than Venus' entire match. In the end, Serena and Dementieva, who was more aggressive, hitting better forehands, but couldn't hang on, played 2 hours, 49 minutes, the longest women's semi in Wimbledon's records.

So it is Venus, trying for a sixth championship and third in a row, against Serena, who lost to her in the final last year but won a couple of Wimbledon titles herself in 2002 and 2003.

Sibling against sibling, Williams against Williams, for the fourth time in a Wimbledon final, the 21st time overall. Each has 10 victories. Each feels compassion toward the other. Each desperately wants the trophy, interestingly named the Venus Rosewater Dish.

"It is different," Venus said of playing Serena, "because I'm happy for her to be in the final, but I have to face her and defeat her. I don't necessarily want her to lose, but for sure I want me to win.

"Maybe that doesn't make sense, but when I'm playing someone else, I want them to lose. I don't like to ever see her disappointed in any way. But at the same time, I don't want to see myself disappointed."

Venus is 29 and more protective than 27-year-old Serena, who, with her Twitter and Facebook, is considerably more outspoken. Venus is cautious in her remarks. Serena can be outrageous.

"But, you know," a candid Venus said, "I need to get my titles, too. I'm still the big sister."

The first few times the Williamses met, in the U.S. Open at the beginning of the decade, at Wimbledon, there were suggestions their father Richard decided who would be the winner before they took the court.

Whether that was legitimate speculation or stupid contemplation, their early matches seemed to lack emotion.

But over the years any hesitancy has disappeared. They charge and slug and chase down balls against each other as they would against anyone else.

Venus wanted Serena to win Thursday. "It's like, if she didn't win, the dream doesn't come true that we're playing in the final."

Serena wanted Venus to win. "It was like, great going." Now they don't want the other to win.

Venus has to be favored, not only after her clubbing of Safina but because Venus has won 20 consecutive matches at Wimbledon, and 34 sets.

"I feel going into this final," said Serena, "I have nothing to lose. Obviously she's playing the best tennis at this tournament. Start with that and just keep positive."

Serena very well could have lost, maybe should have lost. She challenged a couple of calls that originally went Dementieva's way but that the instant-replay review, Hawk-Eye, verified were incorrect. By fractions of an inch.

But Serena refused to concede she was lucky. "I don't think there was too much luck involved," she said.

Not when Serena was serving. She had 20 aces.

"I definitely owe this one to my serve," she agreed.

Her usually strong forehand was nonexistent. "He didn't show up today," she cracked. "I think he went to Hawaii. But I've called him ... er, her, and asked her to come back for the final. Hopefully she'll come back."

No question Venus has come back. Someone whose English carried a strong Eastern Europe accent told Venus that the score of her match, Safina winning one pathetic game, "is very strange."

Not to Venus.

"I like the score," she said with a smile. "Be honest about that. I think the score just showed my level of play. I was just dictating every point. I felt like my performance has been building each round, better and better."

And only one person can stop her: little sister.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11917043
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Men's quarters day really does bring the heat -- literally

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- It was hotter than Bangkok, literally, according to the official temperatures, if at 89 degrees only a notch or two.

It was so hot, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress said firms should encourage employees to wear shorts "to prevent them from collapsing at their desks."

It was so hot, there were empty seats at Centre Court, some of which had been scalped for more than $1,000 when Britain's long-sought tennis hero appeared.

But that hero, Andy Murray, understood the reasoning.

"It was roasting outside," said Murray, "I wouldn't have recommended anyone sitting in that heat for hours."

Recommended or not, people did sit in that seat. And played tennis in that heat.

On this second Wednesday of Wimbledon 2009, more than mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the midday sun for men's quarterfinals won by Murray, five-time champion Roger Federer, surprising Tommy Haas and, finally, Andy Roddick.

The past month in England has been the hottest, driest and sunniest since 2006, which makes it all the more fascinating that for this Wimbledon the $140 million roof over Centre Court was finally put into operation.

But after another scorcher Thursday for the women's semifinals, the Met Office, the weather bureau here, said change is coming, meaning the men's semis on Friday, Murray against Roddick, Federer against Haas, indeed might be played under that roof if the predicted rains arrive.

In the quarters, Murray, trying to become the first Brit since 1936 to win the men's singles, defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2; Federer had a tidy 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 win over Ivo Karlovic; Haas upset No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3; and Roddick, the American, offered a lot of sweat and even at the end some tears, if no blood, taking 3 hours, 50 minutes to beat Lleyton Hewitt, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.

"I'm really happy," said Roddick, twice a finalist -- and twice a loser against Federer. "I haven't been in the Grand Slam picture very much the last two years. Now (with the Australian) I'm in my second semifinal of the year."

When he left the court at a bit after 8 p.m., Andy reached up and dried his eyes. Yes, he was crying. "It was a mixture of happiness and relief," Roddick said. "You know in your mind you're trying to stay the course for four hours, constantly figuring out what you're going to do. So it's relief, happiness and almost a kind of instant shutdown mode."

Immediately after walking to the locker room, Roddick said to the BBC, "I think there's a lot of respect there. We used to get into it a little bit when we were younger, but now we're just a couple of old married dudes."

So, too, finally, is Federer, at 27, second oldest of the four remaining men (Haas is 31, Roddick 26 and Murray 22). Remarkably, Roger has reached a 21st consecutive Grand Slam semifinal and is in position to break his tie with retired Pete Sampras at 14 Slam wins apiece. Not that Federer is getting ahead of himself.

"We all know it would be writing in the history books of tennis," he said. "But it's not there yet."

The roof has been there. Murray defeated Federer's fellow Swiss, Stanislas Wawrinka on Monday night in Wimbledon's first indoor match, and there's still a debate about whether the ball bounces the same indoors.

The All England Club said the temperature when the roof was closed was a steady 75 degrees, much cooler than the record heat outdoors, and humidity a stable 50 percent, lower than outside. Murray, however, said his shots were not the same.

A professor at Sheffield Hallam University told the Times of London that Andy had a point. "When you play outside," said Steve Haake, of the school's department of sports engineering, "there is a breeze. You don't get a carefully controlled environment where the air is not moving and sweat has nowhere to go."

On Wednesday, sweat was everywhere. Fans came to Wimbledon as they might to the Riviera, in shorts, halter tops, straw hats, floppy hats. Kids were splashing in a decorative water run. The line to the ice cream store under the rim of Court 1 stretched 50 yards.

"I like to play my points short," said Federer, the No. 2 seed. "I like short rallies. I think on grass my strength becomes even better, even more dangerous."

Roddick said this Wimbledon might be his best chance, if not his last chance, to add a second Slam to his 2003 U.S. Open championship.

"This one," Andy said of his win over Hewitt, "certainly wasn't short on drama."

Roddick had 43 service aces.

"Andy has been playing great," Roddick said of Murray. "He's certainly come into his own as a player. With my serve, I can give myself a chance in any match."

When you're hot, you're hot.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11913234
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Venus, Serena again in Wimbledon class of their own

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- There's a new musical in London, Sister Act, based on the movie of the same name. There's an old tennis routine at Wimbledon, sister act, based on a history of similar results. No dancing in this one, just advancing.

Venus and Serena Williams are at it once more. In the semifinals once more. One win from the final once more.

"That would be fantastic," said Venus. "It's what Serena and I are hoping for, but we still would have to play well."

They hardly can play better than they have been. It was 90 degrees in the shade Tuesday, and there isn't much shade at the All England Club except for some of the seat holders on Centre Court and Court One.

No time to dawdle. The heat was on. So were Venus and Serena.

Venus needed a mere 68 minutes to squash Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-2, in one of the quarterfinals. Serena took 73 minutes to gain revenge, 6-2, 6-3 against Victoria Azarenka, who had beaten Serena in Miami in the spring.

In the Thursday semis, Venus, trying for a sixth Wimbledon singles championship and third in a row, faces No. 1 seed Dinara Safina, a 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 winner over Sabine Lisicki, while Serena plays Olympic champion Elena Dementieva, who in the other quarter defeated Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2.

This in an affirmation of those who arrange the seedings. The final four are the top four seeds, Safina (1), Serena (2), Venus (3) and Dementieva (4). If form didn't exactly follow function, there wasn't much deviation.

There hasn't been any deviation in Venus' purposeful march. She has won 19 straight matches at Wimbledon, 32 consecutive sets. "Her tennis is so powerful," Radwanska said of Venus, "She's playing so flat (with no spin and little bounce to the ball), and it's hard to do anything."

Azarenka was no less impressed with Serena: "She was striking the ball so hard and good, she really showed the unbeatable Serena today."

Sister act. One Williams or the other has won seven of the last nine Wimbledon women's titles, Venus in 2000, '01, '05, '07 and '08; Serena in '02 and '03. Last year Venus beat Serena in the final; in '02 and '03, Serena beat Venus in the final.

"Do I feel invincible?" 29-year-old Venus Williams asked rhetorically. "I'd like to say yes, but I really do work at it."

Someone wondered what it would be like for Venus to play Venus. "I have no idea," Serena answered, "but I guess the same way I feel when I have to face Venus. You can't give an inch. You have to be on your best game and hopefully she might not be on her best game."

Both the Williams ladies appear on their best game, a game no one else seems to possess.

"I don't know," Serena responded when asked what sets them apart. "We have a great game. We have strong serves. I think we have pretty good returns. Just solid all-around court players. I think we move pretty well. And honestly, I feel lucky and blessed to have had such a good coach in my dad, and my mom, to have taught us the game."

Some, perhaps out of jealousy, say the sisters simply were born great, tremendous athletes -- which they are -- but refuse to acknowledge the sweat and thought that has gone into making them successful.

"If it was that easy," said Venus, "we'd win everything. But it's not that easy. Still, I think we definitely are the front-runners as far as being some of the best players out there. ... I think the style of the game Serena and I play, we play better than the other women."

The Wimbledon style, matches before dark, changed Monday night when the new roof was closed, on the excuse of a brief shower, and Andy Murray took five sets to beat Stanislas Wawrinka, the final point coming at 10:38 p.m. local time.

Murray, the Scot, grumbled about the lack of notice he was given about playing indoors and the amount of humidity despite air conditioning. The BBC attracted 12.6 million viewers for the match, and there was a debate whether the broadcast network persuaded Wimbledon to close the roof and hold the Murray match last on the schedule, after many commuters had arrived home.

Venus, for her part, watched on TV long after finishing a fourth-round match. "It was exciting," she said. "The lighting, from the TV at least, it looked like daylight instead of playing under lights. But I haven't played under the roof, so I don't know what it's like."

What Wimbledon has been like is an old routine with new questions for the participants, such as the one to Serena, who has a total 10 Grand Slam victories, about whether she contemplates her achievements.

"Some of my trophies," she pointed out in denial, "I use for makeup brushes. Maybe I'll just take a step back and take all the brushes out and appreciate every title and every trophy."

But not after she tries to keep stepping forward at Wimbledon toward a probable rematch in the final against her sister.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11909419
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports: Is Melanie Oudin the Future of American Tennis?

By Art Spander

WIMBLEDON, England -- She offered a glimmer, a possibility. Melanie Oudin reminded us there still are kids in the United States who want to be the best.

Kids who will pick up a baseball glove or a basketball, or in her case a tennis racket, and work at their play, driven by their dreams or their demons, as did the youth of past generations.

Wimbledon, the oldest tournament in tennis, the most famous tournament in tennis. The tournament in which at the start of the second week on Monday, there were numerous Swedes and Serbs and Russians and Swiss in singles. And four Americans.

Before early afternoon, the number was reduced to three. Oudin (pronounced Ooh-DAHN), the 17-year-old from the suburbs of Atlanta, was beaten in the fourth round by Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-4, 7-5.

The number was reduced, but America's hopes were not. Maybe after the great Venus and Serena Williams, now in their late 20s, somebody holding a U.S. passport will again be a women's champion. Maybe somebody after the retired Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi there will be a men's champion.

The major leagues have become the Caribbean league. "No rich kid will ever be a ballplayer," Joe DiMaggio was to have said half a century past. "You've got to be hungry."

Meaning you have to grind and sweat and practice. Meaning you have to give up the mall for the playgrounds. Or sandlots. Or clearings amongst the palm trees.

Baseball is the domain of the Dominicans and Venezuelans because they have earned their way.

Tennis belongs to the Eastern Europeans -- at the French Open, there were 25 women whose name ended in "-ova," the label of an unmarried female in those nations. "They want to succeed," a U.S. Tennis Association official made clear of the Serbs and Russians and Czechs.

So does Melanie Oudin, who although of French descent, calls herself "totally American." She's only wanted one thing as she aged: to become better than anyone else.

First you to have to make the commitment. Then you have to make progress. Oudin has done both.

"My goal," said Oudin, "has always been to be No. 1 in the world someday. But it's going to take a lot more work, and I'm going to have to get better and better. But I'm willing to work on it."

She began Wimbledon at 124 in the women's rankings. Now she's in the top 100. But is it only a temporary burst? Does she continue to move up, beat the Hantuchovas and Petrovas and Dementievas, or simply flame out and slip again into anonymity?

"I've always been mentally tough on court," said Oudin. That's a start. And she's quick. But at 5-foot-6, Oudin lacks a big serve and power strokes at the moment.

"She doesn't have weapons," said Jelena Jankovic, a former No. 1, after Oudin beat her.

She has the desire; as DiMaggio might have said, the hunger. She knew what she wanted from the time she was 12 and attending the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow. "I always said I wanted to play in the pros there," was Oudin's recollection. No less significantly, she was playing in the pros here, at the 123rd Wimbledon.

"I didn't expect it coming into this tournament," said Oudin in reflection. She had to survive two match points the first round of qualifying. Then she beat three women ranked above her, two of them, Sybille Bammer and No. 6 Jankovic, seeded the first week of play.

"I'm happy with the way I fought here. I gave everything I have. I'm still the same person, but I think I've improved this week. I think I've gotten better as a player, but I'm looking forward to keep going."

So is the United States. So are ESPN, NBC and CBS, which televise the Grand Slam tournaments. So are tennis people around the globe because they know an American presence benefits the sport.

Oudin could be playing in the juniors. A year ago she was, but lost to Laura Robson of England. This time, Robson, in the main draw, was beaten in the first round while Oudin, the home-schooled munchkin from Georgia, made it into the fourth. And made it into the headlines.

"I'm, like, disappointed I lost today," said Oudin. One step more and she would have been in the quarter-finals. But already she has taken some very large steps.

"I'm very proud of myself, how I did here," said Oudin. "Now I can play with these girls, and this is what I want to do and what I want to be.

"If you really want this, I don't think anything will distract you. There are different things that I've wanted to do, but this is worth it to me. This is what I've always wanted."

What she wants is what America needs: a new face at the summit of tennis.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he has recently been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/06/29/is_melanie_oudin_the_future_of_american_tennis_96414.html
© RealClearSports 2009

CBSSports.com: Murray's marathon, roof closing mark historic day at Wimbledon

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- Andy Murray received his usual standing ovation, and the new roof at Centre Court got an unusual one. Overhead, under lights, with Britannia ruling and the Williams sisters rolling, this 123rd Wimbledon made history.

When Murray finally defeated Stanislas Wawrinka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, it was 10:38 p.m., more than an hour later than any tennis ever had been played at Wimbledon, where people once believed in the civilized idea of holding competition in daylight.

Until Monday, no match had gone beyond 9:35 p.m., which is when a women's doubles match ended in 1981. But now, with the roof and the lights below that roof, it's all changed. Play once started would continue until a winner was determined.

That took 3 hours, 57 minutes. The pubs were getting ready to close.

"It was pretty special," said Murray, who fell to his knees. "I thought Stan played a great match. I'm pretty sure this is the latest finish at Wimbledon."

He's got that right.

"Always when you play indoors, the atmosphere is great," he continued. "When you have 15,000 people cheering for you, it's fantastic."

Long before, Andy Roddick joined Serena and Venus as the U.S. entries in the quarterfinals. Although Roddick's match started at roughly the same time as Murray's, it finished two hours earlier.

If it didn't happen at Wimbledon on the long day's journey into night -- indoor tennis, tennis after dark, Ana Ivanovic injuring her thigh and tearfully pulling out against Venus, Amelie Mauresmo returning to her days of gagging leads, Lleyton Hewitt losing the first two sets and winning the match, the temperature getting up there in Miami territory -- it's probably never going to happen.

At last the roof, which costs 80 million pounds ($146 million), came into play, although truly it wasn't needed. But other than the glorious quest by Murray to become the first Brit in 73 years to win men's singles, the roof has been all anyone has talked or written about.

So as the thermometer climbed almost to 90 and the humidity grew more oppressive, it was a given rain was coming. The first drops fell around 4:35 p.m., and after the tarps -- or, as they're called here, the covers -- were rolled out on Centre Court, the sellout crowd began staring upward.

It didn't matter that it wasn't raining hard enough to delay play on some of the outside courts. The Mauresmo-Dinara Safina match on Centre Court was halted in the second set. Suddenly, the two sides of the translucent roof began moving toward each other. The sellout crowd stood and cheered, as it would later for Murray's comeback.

Radio Wimbledon even gave an account -- dare it be described as play-by-play -- of the roof being employed.

"The roof is moving!" the announcer declared. "It's a privilege to be here on Centre Court at this moment! It's almost shut now! It's agonizingly close to being shut!"

After it was shut and the announcer shut up, at least about the roof, Safina ripped a passing shot for the first point under Wimbledon's temporary dome.

Safina, No. 1 in rankings and seedings, came back from the loss of a first set and being down 3-1 in the third to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The precipitation, slight as it was, had stopped. Would the roof be opened again for Murray's match against Wawrinka?

Not at all, and that choice allowed play to continue into the dead of night, because of the lights, and allowed Murray, the No. 3 seed, to overtake Wawrinka, the player from Switzerland who isn't named Roger Federer.

Just to prove the lunacy of the process, while Murray and Wawrinka went at it indoors, 100 yards away, Roddick was beating Tomas Berdych, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the sunlight falling upon Court 1.

Not that he had any control over the situation, or that it affected him, Roddick was asked whether he thought they pulled the trigger too early on closing the roof. Tournament officials have decreed that, once a shot is hit while the roof is in place, then it stays in place through a match, even if there's no rain.

"Here is what I think about it," Roddick said. "If it's raining, they have a pretty good little weather system forecast thingy down in the magic little office there. ... I say if it is even sprinkling, at the time, and it looks ominous, if you have a roof, use it."

So it was used.

What Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champ, couldn't do after getting thumped by Venus in the first set was use her left leg. In the opening game of the second set, Ana apparently pulled a thigh muscle, began to cry and then retired with Williams winning, 6-1, 1-0.

"I felt like I wasn't given a fair chance to fight," Ivanovic said.

Venus has won 18 straight matches and 31 straight sets at Wimbledon and seeks a third consecutive women's single title and sixth overall here.

The Sister Act still is proving newsworthy -- Serena Williams, on the other side of the draw, was a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Daniela Hantuchova.

"I was definitely out there not to stay too long," said Serena. "I'm a Florida girl, so I was totally fine with the heat."

As was Wimbledon with a match after dark.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11906045
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Second week, third round brings big tests, big answers

WIMBLEDON, England -- You could start with a pun, that with all the Russian women at Wimbledon, none of whom has won, it's over when it's "ova." You could start with the fact that Switzerland, famous for cheese and watches, has two men in the third round, while America, famous for who knows what, has only one.

Or you could start with the thought that the second week of the 123rd All England Lawn Tennis Championships has the potential to produce all sorts of tempting new stories but in the end undoubtedly will provide the same ones as in the past. With minor variations.

They're back Monday. Everybody who made it through the first week, made it to the fourth round, will be playing. After a day on which nobody played.

Which is why Wimbledon is Wimbledon. Or, more accurately, why the Borough of Merton, where the town and club are located, is what it is.

The residents need a break from the cars and crowds. The grass courts need a break from the players. The players need a break from each other, although they did practice, and from the media.

The other Grand Slams, the Australian, the French, the U.S. Open, go on through Sunday. Not Wimbledon, unless rain has tormented play earlier in the event.

That hasn't been the case, as you are aware. The new roof over Centre Court was closed only once, Saturday evening, but no one took the court.

In Sunday's Observer, Will Buckley, not the only one weary of tales of the roof, alluded to the television network and complained that the BBC "obsesses over a cover story that tells us nothing."

The third-round matches will tell us a great deal:

Whether Andy Murray, the No. 3 seed, the Scotsman, the great hope to end Britain's 73-year silence in men's singles (no champion since Fred Perry in 1936), can get past the other guy from Switzerland, Stanislas Wawrinka.

Whether Andy Roddick, the last U.S. male remaining in singles, has enough game to beat Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, whom Roddick said is streaky, "rarely middle of the road. He's either real good or not so good. Right now you expect to get the best of him."

Whether Melanie Oudin, the 17-year-old Munchkin from Marietta, Ga., outside Atlanta, can keep going on a miracle run that began three weeks ago when she survived two match points in the first round of qualifying and continued through a win over No. 5 Jelena Jankovic. Monday, the 5-foot-6 Oudin meets Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, out on Court 18, the quasi-big time.

The other results we take for granted, that Venus Williams, trying for a third straight Wimbledon title and sixth overall, will whip Ana Ivanovic, as in the 2007 semifinals. On a roll? Venus has won 17 straight matches here, 29 straight sets.

That Roger Federer of Switzerland will thump his pigeon, Robin Soderling of Sweden, whom he beat in the French final three weeks ago, improving his record against him to 10-0. That's perfect, if you were wondering.

Britain's in a dither. The national rugby team was beaten Saturday 28-25 in South Africa, a performance that earned the headline, "Brilliant Lions Succumb to Epic Defeat."

The Ashes, the historic cricket competition between England and Australia, resumes July 8 in Wales.

And Murray is looking very much as if he'll be around for the last day of Wimbledon.

"Ice-cool Murray a cert for final, say stars," was the back-pager in the Sunday Mail. That translates as John McEnroe, Boris Becker and John Lloyd, Chris Evert's ex, predicting Murray will be in the final against Federer.

"I'd obviously love to get to the final," said Murray, classically reticent, "but there is still a lot of tennis to be played." Substitute football for tennis, and it sounds like a sound bite on any given Sunday in the NFL.

Venus, too, was conversant in the cliches. "She's talented and she does everything well," Venus said of Ivanovic, who has slipped to No. 13 after briefly rising to first following her 2008 French Open win.

Federer insisted the second week of a Grand Slam is when the tournament gets interesting for him. "Not necessarily," Venus responded when asked her reaction. "We think different. I take it match by match and figure out whatever I need to figure out."

It was reported that Venus and sister Serena, also into the fourth round, have been e-mailing Melanie Oudin, although they are only acquaintances through the Fed Cup team.

"They say things like, 'You go girl,'" Cliff Klingbeil, a friend of the Oudin family, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "Melanie can't believe the Williams sisters even know who she is."

We all know what Wimbledon is, the tennis tournament that takes a day off and comes back with a vengeance.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11903142
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

CBSSports.com: Roof closes just for show on day of surprises

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- It isn't a $146 million curiosity piece after all. The new roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court finally was closed Saturday, although for no good reason other than to prove it could be closed.

You have a new toy; you have to play with it.

Long after the last scheduled match, just about 8 p.m., when there still was plenty of light and not enough rain, the huge accordion-like structure was activated.

Andy Murray, the Scot, the guy who might give Great Britain its first men's singles champion in 73 years, had finished beating Victor Troicki, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Andy Roddick had won his match. Venus Williams had won hers.

And it was long after 17-year-old Melanie Oudin, who was out there on Court 3, gave reason to believe America might have a female champion other than Venus or Serena Williams.

Maybe the people who run Wimbledon were weary of the complaints. Maybe they felt taunted by Mother Nature, a fickle lady who usually provides rain every year for the All England Championships but has failed miserably this time.

So, following the Murray-Troicki competition, with only a few hundred of the 14,000-plus fans still in their seats, the roof was closed and the announcement was made that, if needed, because of advancing darkness or actual rain, a match from Court 1 might be shifted to Centre Court.

Except the match on Court 1, between Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, the No. 10 seed, and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain already was in the fourth set and headed for a fifth.

It would be like moving a game from Citi Field to Yankee Stadium in the seventh inning.

In the end, the match stayed where it was -- the fans over on Court 1 would have been unhappy, indeed -- and Ferrero surprised Gonzalez 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Not as big a surprise as the 5-6 Oudin, playing her first Wimbledon. She beat a disoriented Jelena Jankovic, affected by the heat, 6-7 (8-10), 7-5, 6-2.

Jankovic had started the year as No. 1 in the rankings and had reached the finals of the 2008 U.S. Open. She's a world-class player. But Oudin, from the suburbs of Atlanta, literally ran her around the court.

"She's a short girl, and she runs a lot," Jankovic said of Oudin. "She doesn't have any weapons, but she doesn't make many mistakes. She made me hit a lot of balls, and I just couldn't do it. I didn't have enough power and strength to hit my shots."

Jankovic needed medical treatment after the first set. "I felt dizzy, and I thought I was going to end up in the hospital," she said. She also needed to get a toe taped after the second set.

But Oudin (pronounced Ooh-DAHN; she is of French descent "but totally American") didn't need to hear excuses -- only her own excited squeals after her biggest victory in 15 months as pro.

"I went out there and actually did well just thinking she was any other player," said Oudin, "and it was any other match, and I was at any other tournament."

As they say, anything that works.

Introduced to tennis along with twin sister Katherine by their grandmother, Melanie watched Venus and Serena from Wimbledon on TV when she was 7 years old and announced she would be there someday.

She made it through qualifying, saving two match points in her opening match a couple of weeks ago. And she has made it through three rounds despite her ranking (123rd).

"I've not played her," Venus Williams said, "but I was on the Fed Cup team with her. Just so enthusiastic about tennis. [For the United States] it's super good news."

Things weren't so super good for Svetlana Kuznetsova, the French Open winner, who was a loser. And then there was Jesse Levine, along with Roddick the only American male who made it to the third round but who, unlike Roddick, didn't make it out of the third round.

Everything seemed to work for Venus, a 6-0, 6-4 winner over Carla Suarez Navarro, Venus' 17th straight successful match as she tries for a third consecutive women's title at Wimbledon, but the talk later was that the roof had worked. As if Roddick cared about that.

"There's a roof," Roddick said. "If it rains, it closes. Beyond that, we might as well guess what color socks someone is wearing. I think the common joke is they haven't had to use it yet. All this money, and the weather's been nice."

It was fine when Roddick defeated Jurgen Melzer, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 in their third-rounder. Clouds appeared and the temperature dropped as Murray and Troicki were about to move on, having received instructions about procedure dealing with the roof. Ten minutes are needed to close, 20 minutes to activate the air conditioning.

"I obviously wanted to finish the match as quickly as possible," said Murray, who did that, requiring only an hour and a half. "It would have been a nice bit of history, I guess, the first to play under the roof. I wasn't worried about it. I enjoy playing indoors."

There probably won't be any indoor tennis at Wimbledon until at least Wednesday, according to the forecast, but then there's a chance of rain every day through the end of the tournament. Maybe that roof will get used -- maybe a lot.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/11900551
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports: 'Murraymania' Takes Hold at Wimbledon

By Art Spander

He's from Scotland, but the English will accept him -- if he wins Wimbledon. Which no British male, English, Scottish, Welsh or whatever has done in 73 years.

Andy Murray is the third seed and the first story. The tabloids had dozens of pieces on Michael Jackson reading front to back. But back to front, which is how the sporting public treats tabs, it was Andy Murray, or as they call it here, "Murraymania.''

Sports news in England is reported subjectively and patriotically. Losers are "brave.'' Winners "fly the flag." There haven't been many flags flying at Wimbledon, and so Murray, who in lesser tournaments has beaten Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, is being touted, idolized and treated like the royalty he someday may meet.

Already, Murray has received congratulations from Queen Elizabeth for his win two weeks ago at Queen's, the warmup for Wimbledon, something he noted on his Twitter page.

"Got a nice letter from the Queen,'' he tweeted, "for doing well winning Queen's. Put it away from the bills.''

Murray lost a set in his opening match to Robert Kendrick, an American, which caused great distress among the journalists, who in England root as intensely for the locals as Americans root against theirs, with maybe the exception of Tiger Woods.

But Murray looked sharp in the second round and as he prepared to face a Serb named Viktor Troicki in the third, Murray had all England (and presumably Scotland) at his feet. Which is better than having them at one's neck, the usual fate of British athletes who sink to becoming brave losers.

"Murray in a hurry as the path to glory opens wide,'' was the headline in the Times, which limited itself to one gushing piece. As opposed to The Sun, which on the back page carried the headline, ‘YOU CAN KISS MY FEET,'' a tale of him losing wagers to his coach, one of the payments requiring pushups and a smack on the sneakers.

Murray very well might face Federer in the finals, which could even bring out the Queen, who hasn't been to Wimbledon since 1977, when Virginia Wade of England was champion. Her majesty has made no secret of her dislike of tennis, but she may feel compelled to be high-class royalty in the Royal Box.

On Friday, that area was occupied by such as Mr. and Mrs. Rajesh Batra, Lady and Sir Ian Miskin and the Rt. Honorable The Baroness Dean of Thorton-le-Fylde. Not bad, but hardly like Thursday when one of the guests was Dr. Iary Ravoarimanana of Madagascar, who has written a book on molecular phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the sporting lemurs.

What sport the lemurs play is unknown, but apparently it's not tennis. Otherwise they'd be entered at Wimbledon, perhaps as Murray, or multiple champions, Federer and Serena Williams. Each was a third-round winner Friday, when sun the continued to shine and the very expensive new roof over Centre Court remained unused.

Federer, saying he thought it was his best match of the tournament, even while losing a set, beat Philipp Kohlscriber, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-1. Serena was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Roberta Vinci in a match that took just a bit more than an hour.

For Serena, the obligatory debriefing, in which she brought out one of those small, plastic Gatorade squeeze bottles and plunked it down just to her right, label carefully facing the front, was not so much about tennis as about Michael Jackson.

The British press needs angles, not to be confused with angles of volleys or drop shots. Wimbledon coverage alternates on two BBC channels from noon until darkness. Newspapers may not be flourishing here, but they're around in large numbers, and the competition among them is very real.

So, the very first question to Serena was: "What did Michael Jackson mean to you personally, and would you think about dedicating today's victory perhaps?''

Serena was both respectful and truthful. "No,'' she began, answering the second question first. "I mean he was great guy, a complete icon. Words just can't express my shock and horror . . . I think Michael Jackson, everyone listens to his music. It's like you think of the Beatles, you think of Elvis Presley, you think of Michael Jackson. Those are just lifetime icons that I've never forgotten.''

As far as the tennis? "I'm happy to have gotten my match over. I'm happy to have won.''

She'll win some more. As will her sister, Venus, trying for a third straight championship. But in Britain they really only care about Andy Murray. He's from Scotland. And, should he become champion, he also would be from heaven.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he has recently been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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