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Unpredictable U.S. Open?

One of the crown jewel events of tennis gets under way Monday in New York with an impressive streak on the line.

By DAVE SCHEIBER
Published August 26, 2007

One of the crown jewel events of tennis gets under way Monday in New York with an impressive streak on the line: The game's most dominant player, Roger Federer, has a chance to become the first man in the Open Era to win four straight U.S. Open titles. ¶ Beyond that, there are few predictable story lines this year.

The women's crown is completely up for grabs as second-seeded Maria Sharapova sets out to defend her title against a crowded field. It includes top seed Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic No. 3, Ana Ivanovic (No. 5) and the always dangerous Williams sisters - Venus, the 12th seed, is coming off a Wimbledon victory, and No. 8 Serena won the Australian Open but has been hampered by a thumb injury.

A look at some other key elements of the Open through the eyes of USA network analyst John McEnroe and CBS analyst Mary Carillo, who participated in a conference call last week:

Althea Gibson tribute

The tournament marks the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson's first Grand Slam singles crown, and the moment will be celebrated Monday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Serena and Venus Williams play opening-round matches. Gibson won the U.S. National Championships, which would become the U.S. Open, in 1957 and 1958. Fittingly, in 1999, Serena Williams became the first African-American woman to win the tournament since Gibson and, in 2000, Venus Williams became the first to win Wimbledon since Gibson in 1957 and '58.

"The magnitude of what (Althea) did is just now, particularly with the success of the Williams sisters, is being appreciated," John McEnroe said. "... With the female in the '50s, it's unimaginable how difficult it must have been for her."

Would the 5-foot-11 Gibson have been successful in today's game? "Oh yeah," Mary Carillo said. "She was long and wiry. She had an all-court game. She wanted to get to the net." Added McEnroe: "She would have been like Venus. She was one of the best players that played."

A rocky ride for Roddick?

The last man other than Roger Federer to win the U.S. Open is Andy Roddick, who prevailed in 2003. But has the top American on tour and fifth-ranked player peaked, while the top four - Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko - gotten stronger?

"A lot of the game has caught up and caught onto Andy Roddick and his game," Mary Carillo said. "A year ago, I think there was more buzz about Andy because he had a win coming into the U.S. Open and Jimmy Connors was still a pretty fresh coach. ... Andy had been getting the same kind of coaching and exhortations and instructions from everybody who's ever worked with him before: get tighter into the court, do more with your backhand, beef up your return game."

Carillo sensed a surge of confidence in Roddick last year with Connors on board. "A year (later), quite frankly his numbers aren't that good. His return game is not that good. By tour standards, his backhand is just average. And his forehand, which used to be one of the biggest in men's tennis, is now middle of the pack."

The Blake factor

Tampa's James Blake, the Open's sixth seed, has reached the quarterfinals two straight years but only recently began to regain the stellar form he established last season. "This is still a guy who's never won a five-set match before, so I guess I'm not quite ready to put him in the small knot of players who I think might win the U.S. Open this year," Mary Carillo said. "But this is the meat of his season. This is it. So if he's going to do anything special, he'd very much want to do it (here)."

John McEnroe said this could be Blake's best chance at contending for a major.

"He's got about as good a draw as any of the top players until he gets to the semis," McEnroe said. "If he's ever going to make that move (and) be a legitimate threat to win a major, this is about as good a chance as he'll have to get to the semis. This is a real important tournament for him."

Which Williams?

Ten years after Venus first reached the U.S. Open final - ushering in an era of stunning yet sporadic Williams sisters dominance - the question is which version of Venus and Serena will show up. Both appear healthy, having battled injuries, so either is capable of winning it all.

"They check in and play great, then they check back out again," Mary Carillo said. "Then they show up again and prove they still have got what it takes. ... I'm a little surprised that those two didn't hang around and dominate for 10 years. I thought that's what was going to happen, and I thought that was going to change tennis history. Obviously, they have still impacted greatly on the sport, but I thought they'd be more insistent about it."

Schedule notes

This is CBS's 40th straight year covering the Open, with more than 37 hours of live coverage (Ch. 10) beginning Saturday, with men's and women's third-round action, and concluding with the men's singles final Sept. 9. The coverage will be highlighted for the seventh straight year with the women's final Sept. 8, starting at 8, after coverage of the men's semifinals. Dick Enberg with do play-by-play, joined by Mary Carillo and John McEnroe for the seventh straight year.

[Last modified August 25, 2007, 23:57:22]