Oberon's Grove: US Open 2007 Qualifying Tournament #1

Wednesday August 22, 2007 - After a stodgy ride on the #7 train, I got out to the Tennis Center nice and early today after yesterday's rain-out. There was a very full schedule of matches on offer as the tourney was playing catch-up. They started an hour earlier than usual and matches were scheduled in the Grandstand which is usually not used during the qualifiers. Skies were dark and ominous when I got there.

My first stop was Court 17 where the young Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Hag Qureshi (left) was facing Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. I had never seen either of them play before. Qureshi caused a scandal a few years ago at Wimbledon when he teamed up for doubles with the Israeli Amir Hadad. It was sad to see politics and religion intruding on my favorite sport. Gilles Muller had the distinction of beating Andy Roddick in the first round of the 2005 US Open - the year that the massive "Andy's Mojo" ad campaign seemed to cover every square foot of available space at the Open. I was really curious to see these two guys play.

The cool conditions must have been a boon for the players. I stayed for the entire Qureshi/Muller match and found the two players very closely competitive. Both are steady players and the first set proceeded without any major thrills to a tie-breaker which Qureshi won. In the second set they traded breaks and there was a funny moment when Qureshi, receiving, stepped out of his shoe at the baseline. It was again decided in a tie-breaker which went to Qureshi. It could have gone either way. Qureshi, the tall-dark-and-handsome type, could be viewed as visual compensation for the absent Paradorn at this year's Open. Muller played really well and I will hope to see him again in the future. {Post-match photos of Muller & Qureshi.}

Denis Gremelmayr and Julio Silva provided an entertaining contrast in styles and a thoroughly enjoyable match. Gremelmayr was not having a good day; you could see his skills there but his timing and accuracy were not enhanced today by that one thing every player needs: sheer luck. I saw Silva last year in a really fun match against Thiago Alves; both Silva and Alves are 'shouters' and Julio was in fine voice today. More importantly, he is a gritty and relentless player whose smallish frame belies the power he can generate. He tracks down every ball; even when you think the point is over, Julio can suddenly pounce on the ball and hit a winner out of nowhere. He pounded back shot after shot, grinding Gremelmayr down. After winning in two sets, Silva packed up quickly and took off; I chased him all the way to the player's center to congratulate him.

I checked out a few matches, including Thiago Alves who was yelling his head off but losing to Brian Dabul. It had been sprinkling in droplets since 1:00 PM then around 3:00 the rain started in earnest, a fine rain driven by a cool wind. Twice I headed for the exit but both times the rain eased and the sky seemed to brighten. They started drying the courts, then more rain fell. I heard an official saying they would resume play at 4:30...it was closer to 6:00. But I'm so glad I stayed to see one of my favorite players, Bjorn Phau, win a very tough match against the young American Stephen Bass.

I discovered Bjorn at the Open a couple years ago; he is a compact, no-nonsense player with a delayed-action serve and wonderful variety in his shots. Stephen Bass is a tallish, good-looking guy with an unusual habit of tucking his tee-shirt up to reveal some skin and his underpants as he waits to receive; I'm not sure what this little ritual means. Stephen was pretty sketchy in the first set; his serve was off and he kept hitting long. Bjorn broke and marched through the set. In the second set, Bjorn had 3 match points on Stephen's serve but couldn't do it; then he was broken. Stephen was now playing with much more power and accuracy; he surged ahead for a 7-5 finish. Bjorn seemed to be cursing himself loudly in German. In the third set, Bjorn got down to business; mixing power balls with floaters, slices and a couple of daring drop shots, Bjorn broke Stephen twice and prevailed. (Photo: Stephen & Bjorn at end of the match.}

I then went to watch Go Soeda's match; I enjoyed him very much last year. He looked great, having let his hair grow quite long, and was in a close match against Marin Cilic. But it had gotten really cold and I was chilled in my shorts & tee-shirt, still damp from the rain. When my teeth started chattering I decided it was time to head home. {Photo of Go under the lights.}

The Qualifying tournament, which used to attract only serious tennis fans, has become a sort of event in itself with crowds of the 'cell-phone, bring-the-kids' set wandering around seemingly unaware that people are playing tennis. Hordes of school-age kids, unchaperoned, rush all over the Center basically ignoring the matches or watching for a few seconds and losing interest. The rain today had the benefit clearing the field so that the evening had a more serious and far more enjoyable tone. Despite the chilly air.

Comments

Hi Philip,
How's life? Thank you for your mail and information about this blog.I'm very very glad to hear Bjorn's victory.However you couldn't get a chance to talk with him.You were a bit disappoined that.
Anyway we expexct you'll be able to say good luck and convey japanese fans send cheering to Bjorn.

Have a enjoy watching tennis mutch at Open!!

Cheers.

Posted by: NOBU | August 23, 2007 at 10:44 AM