!Hc by Pete Bodo
Well, day one is in the books, folks. And day two will begin with some talk about books. First, though, note that this is a Crisis Center post, which means it will be the place for you to discuss all the U.S. Open action of day two. Going forward, you'll have a Crisis Center (CC) post every morning (or midday), and that will the place for y'all to chat about the action. I'll come back with a red meat post later every day, and ask you to keep the off-topic chatter to a minimum there.
I got a note from Hyperion, the publisher of Hardcourt Confidential: Tales from Twenty Years in the Pro Tennis Trenches, the recently released book I helped Patrick McEnroe write. We're experiencing a nice bump in sales now that the U.S. is focused on tennis. Those of you who are interested can get the book via Amazon or Captain McEnroe's Facebook page, which I urge you to visit in any event. Pat and I are both happy with the way the book turned out and believe it adds to the historical record of the game in Pat's time. Our title tries to make clear that this isn't a Pat McEnroe autobiography, but a collection of his experiences and observations through a career that touches many of the bases in tennis.
James Blake plays his first-round match against Kristof Vliegen on Louis Armstrong today (third match on), and the way Blake has been playing this year makes it impossible to predict the outcome. He's here as a wild card—presently, Blake is ranked No. 108, just missing the cutoff for direct entry. I'd hate to see Blake slip out of the U.S. Open without making one more run, or playing one more compelling match.
Blake is one of the main characters in Hardcourt Confidential, and Pat writes about him with candor that may surprise many of you. James was not an easy player to manage. He was often reticent and always self-protective, skeptical of any advice that came from anyone other than his entourage, in which the key member for most years was his long-time coach, Brian Barker. McEnroe, among others, feels that one reason for Barker's longevity was that he knew enough to tell Blake only what he wanted to hear. Mostly, the message boiled down to this: Play aggressive, high-risk tennis. Hit it flat and hard. Load up on the service return in order to take charge. Resist any urge or temptation to modulate or broaden your margin for error.
Blake believed that was the only way he could compete at the highest level; McEnroe and others often felt he ought to have been more aware of percentage play and various tactical and strategic options. McEnroe gives many examples of how hard it was to move Blake off his articles of faith, often to the detriment of his game.
Unfortunately, Blake's game of choice doesn't have a very long shelf life. It's live-fast/die-young tennis, and Blake is now 30 years old. It's hard to imagine him at this stage incorporating many changes in, or addition to, his game. But you also have to wonder, wouldn't a commitment to a makeover of some kind provide the kind of challenge and motivation that might help pull Blake out of the doldrums?
I mean, if people who have been married a long time and finally divorce can go on to find the mirage of youth and happiness again in a new spouse, why can't a tennis player? Thirty is old in tennis, no doubt about it. But Martina Navratilova, among others, showed us that with sufficient incentive, self-belief and discipline, it isn't a drop-dead cutoff for achievment.
