US OPEN. OY VEY! Those disgusting "fans" booing the new CHAMPION.

I fell asleep at the start of 3rd set and couldn't believe my eyes when I checked the scores the next morning. Well done Cilic! The upsets have made this year's tourney extremely eventful.

I watched the entire Cilic match on tv but nodded thru the Sharapova-Suarez Navarro match. Regarding Sharapova, I'm reminded of Billie Jean King's suggestion that players really should seek out a specialized coach to beef up a part of their game that's a real liability. I'm well aware of Maria's shoulder problems but she's going to have to seriously improve her serve if she expects to win another major. Other than the case of Serena, Pliskova, and a couple other top players, the women really seem to struggle with holding serve these days. It's nearly comical. And many of the service motions on the women's side are either just plain ugly or stiff like a board. I like watching players who play to win versus those who play to avoid losing. Well done Carla!!!

Probably nerves. He seemed really tight in the first set but recovered mid-way the 2nd. I'm fighting sleep right now early in the 4th.

I struggled till the end but it was worth it. What a match, one that Thiem should have won. He'll likely rue the loss for awhile. Thiem's serve and groundies are out of this world, but this transition game and net play are abominable for an elite player at his level. He hit several topspin backhand approach shots that sat up for Rafa to hit an easy passing shot.

While I'm a fan of Nadal's hustle, I never really cared for his style of tennis nor Lleyton Hewitt's when he was still on tour. They both make tennis look painful. I delight in watching Nole methodically pick Nadal's game apart. He exposes all of Nadal's weaknesses out there like his inability to hit the backhand pass down the line under pressure and his tendency to serve to a righty's backhand in the ad court under pressure. It's been painful watching Nadal do the same to Federer through the years.

I'd like to see Nole and del Potro in the men's final.

I played on the junior circuit as a kid back in the 70s but haven't set foot on a tennis court in nearly 20 years. Like you I really miss the old days when "finesse" was still a part of the sport at the pro level. I just don't care for much of mindless ball bashing you see out there now nor the fact that a player can literally win a major with a single weapon...the serve. I really wish that both the ATP and WTA would institute the following changes: (1) elimination of the 2nd serve, (2) elimination of the let serve, and (3) banning of the two-handed backhand. And on the women's tour, elimination of ON COURT COACHING which I don't think paints the women in the most flattering light.

I really miss the time when Connors, McEnroe, and Lendl hated each others' guts on and off the court and were not coy about it. On more than one occasion whenever Johnny Mac crowded the net, Lendl and Connors would try to take out his midsection which was a fair play. It only heightened the drama on court during their matches. Considering that most of the top players on the men's tour today are not particularly good volleyers, I don't understand why their opponents don't draw them into the net more and turn up the heat.

Most of the drama these day comes from the women with their eye rolls and tactical grunting on court, as well as the off-court barbs during their pressers. I miss when Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, and Serena loathed the mere sight of each other. They produced some of the most compelling tennis in the history of the sport after the Evert-Navratilova rivalry. Jen, Justine, and Serena were clear rivals who hated losing to each other. I also miss Monica Seles being absolutely merciless with her opponents on court including the legendary Steffi Graf. Monica was a beast out there and Serena's childhood idol.

IMHO many of the mid-level pros today are content with cashing runner up checks earned at the majors and tour events, while banking on their looks/appeal to land endorsement deals. There's so much prize money and appearance guarantees being offered that a relatively unaccomplished singles player like Anna Kournikova recently can haul in truck loads of money despite not winning a single tour event. You'll likely recall that Billie Jean King and several other pioneering women had to beg for a pittance of prize money while attempting to launch the WTA. The only two companies who were even remotely interested in sponsoring the women's tour back then were Tampax and Virginia Slims, a cigarette brand of all things.

Updated On: 9/6/18 at 10:07 PM

Hi yankeefan7!!! It's been awhile since our paths crossed on bww. I was just waxing nostalgic for the good ole days of wooden rackets, positional tennis, and conventional volleys. Regarding one trick wonders winning majors, Goran Ivanisevic comes to mind. Don't mean to diminish his accomplishments, but w/o his serve he arguably would have struggled to get into the top 40 let alone win Wimbledon. And despite being a huge Serena fan, I'm comfortable suggesting that her serve won her 2 Wimbledon titles as well. Neither ever played professionally with the tennis-elbow inducing popsicle sticks known as wooden rackets

Your taking up the sport in your 40s is inspiring. I have a few colleagues who've been trying to get me to join an over-50 league in my neighborhood. I'm too lazy to go there right now.

"Your taking up the sport in your 40s is inspiring. I have a few colleagues who've been trying to get me to join an over-50 league in my neighborhood. I'm too lazy to go there right now."

You need to do it, you will be glad you did. I just read article where it said people who play some type of racket sport like tennis live longer. The article said it is not just the physical activity but the social and competitive aspect of playing that is good for you. It was very interesting to read. Being a junior player many years ago, I am sure once you try again it will be muscle memory and the game will come back to you !! Just do it !!! - lol

"I can NOT believe the behavior of those fans who boo'd when Naomi Osaka's name was announced was the new champion. I'm going to leave it at that regarding the women's final because two women in my circle called me a misogynistic pig after I refused to join their post-match pity party for you-know-who. The last time they goaded me to to defend "the bros" was after Hilary lost to Trump via the electoral college. I suspect that any connection between the two events is purely coincidental."

That was awful behavior and there is a NY Post columnist who wrote great article calling out these "fans". To do this to a young woman who did nothing wrong but play some excellent tennis against their favorite is just wrong. Why were these fans booing her? It was not her coach who cheated by sending signals to his player. She did not slam her racket down and break it which is a code violation. She did not berate the chair umpire and demand apology. My goodness, the opening of the awards ceremony seemed more about how wonderful Serena was than the actual champion, just a disgrace. Sadly in the country we live in today, seems a whole bunch of people can't handle when the person they want to win loses very well.

"That's New York, ever watch the golf tournaments. We're in our own league in classless. I wouldn't mind there being heckler tournaments, once a year, Flushing for the tennis, The Black Course at Bethpage for the golf."

You can't just totally blame NY because people attending these events are from all over the country. I don't really follow golf but I don't think I have ever heard of a winner of a major being booed during award ceremony.

South Florida said: "People from all over the world were there, but I'd guess the booing was mostly NYers.

"

That is a silly broad generalization to make.



The one thing I will say is this. Williams's coach admitted that he was coaching her during the break in play. But, he made a good point. That, this is something that coaches do all the time. That he couldn't understand why a ref, who's aware of this phenomenon, would penalize someone for it specially at the championship of a grand slam event.

Javero,your point (5) falls flat - all players are over-compensated, both male and female. The argument that "they only play three sets" is ridiculous - as if the men have actually earned the ridiculous six-figure sums they give out in prize money. It's not an hourly rate.