MEN'S RANKINGS

NALBANDIAN RETURNS

Former world No. 3 and 2002 Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian will make his comeback from hip surgery in an exhibition tournament in Buenos Aires in December.

The Argentine, who had surgery in May, will be joined in the tournament on the clay courts of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club by Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, Spaniard Carlos Moya, Russian Marat Safin, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and compatriot Juan Monaco.

Nalbandian plans to return to the ATP circuit in January in Sydney where he will defend his title and play in the Australian Open.

REUTERS

SERENA'S TAMPAX COMMERCIAL RELEASED

"If I could, I would take this &%$#@! Tampax and shove it down your &%$#@! ******* and kill you," Williams said."I swear to God I'm... going to take this &%$#@! Tampax and shove it down your &%$#@! *******, you hear that? I swear to God, bitch!"

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

As the 642nd shot of the rally floated high above her head, Vicki Nelson decided it was time to go for a winner.

“I thought I was going to go crazy,” Nelson told reporters after the match. “No matter what I did with the ball, she kept getting it back.”

She added: “It took me a long time to get up the nerve to come in, but she finally hit a short lob and I put it away — forever.”

Twenty-five years ago, on Sept. 24, 1984, Nelson and Jean Hepner, who were ranked No. 93 and No. 172 in the world, engaged in a 29-minute, 643-shot rally that remains the longest point played in a professional tennis match.

For comparison, during a match last month, Andy Murray and Julien Benneteau had a rally that lasted 53 shots, and it was the longest either of them could remember playing in competition.

The rally between Nelson and Hepner occurred in the first round of the $50,000 Virginia Slims-sponsored Ginny tournament at the Raintree Swim and Racquet Club in Richmond, Va., with Nelson finally prevailing, 6-4, 7-6 (11).

The 6-hour-31-minute marathon was itself the longest match in tennis history for nearly 20 years and remains the longest match completed on a single day. (In the 2004 French Open, Fabrice Santoro defeated Arnaud Clément in 6:33. That match, however, was suspended by darkness in the fifth set, so the final 1:55 was played the next day.)

Both Nelson and Hepner seem vaguely embarrassed that their names are in the record books.

“Even now, just thinking about it, my stomach is starting to hurt,” Hepner said. “I had a lot going on in my personal life at that time and I was trying to turn my career around and it was getting tougher to do. But I didn’t stay out there for six hours to get attention; I just wanted to win that match badly.”

Hepner, who was then 25, retired from the sport soon after and now lives in Redwood City, Calif. She is a teacher, property manager and competitive chess player, but only rarely plays tennis and no longer has any connections to the professional tennis world.

Nelson, who goes by Nelson-Dunbar after marrying, lives in Medina, Ohio, and remains involved in the sport. Her husband, Keith Dunbar, was a professional tennis coach and their 13-year-old son, Jacob, was the top-ranked player in the country in the 12-and-under division last year. Their son Ethan, 17, wants to play Division I tennis in college next year, and their 10-year-old daughter, Emily, has just begun playing.

The rally that put Nelson-Dunbar and Hepner in the record books came at set point for Hepner, who was ahead, 11-10, in the second-set tie breaker, which lasted 1:47 on its own.

“There was tons of lobbing,” Nelson-Dunbar said. “I would try to come in and she’d lob me again.”

After winning the point, Nelson-Dunbar collapsed with cramps in her legs. The chair umpire, who apparently maintained consciousness throughout the 643-stroke point, actually called a time-violation warning, but Nelson-Dunbar pulled it together and got back to the baseline to begin the next point.

How does a point go on for 29 minutes before one player or the other hits a winner or makes a mistake?

“We were both pretty much standing on the baseline lobbing,” Nelson-Dunbar said.

Hepner recalled, “I was just really concentrating and was very consistent.”

Two points later, Nelson-Dunbar closed out the match and apologized to the lines officials for its length.

“I felt so bad for them,” she said. “They were sitting out there so long, and they must have been falling asleep.”

Hepner said she had no idea the match had dragged on for more than six hours. “There’s time distortion when you are in the alpha state — like a hypnotic state,” she said. “I had no idea that six and a half hours had passed.”

John Packett, who covered the match for The Richmond Times-Dispatch, had the foresight to keep track of the strokes, explaining, “I started counting because the rallies were going so long, you had to figure, Who knows how long these points are going to last?”

Packett, who covered tennis and other sports for The Times-Dispatch for nearly 40 years, recalled the match as dull, yet strangely compelling.

“I’m not sure why I even watched it,” he said. “I’m glad I did, since it turned out to be a historic match, but it wasn’t one of the highlights of my journalistic career.”

Hugh Waters, a former tennis coach and the owner of the Raintree club, remembered: “I had a lot of people coming up to me at the tournament saying the match was ridiculous, but I always jumped on them. It takes guts to do what they did.

“People don’t understand the mental aspect of the game: this was a battle of wills and real tennis fans like me could appreciate it.”

Nelson-Dunbar turned 22 minutes after the match ended, but she went to bed without celebrating because she had to play again that afternoon.

Before calling it a night, she called Keith Dunbar, who was then her boyfriend.

“She told me it was the worst day of her life,” he recalled. “I asked her if she lost, and she said no, she won, but she had just gotten off the court. I told her to imagine how Jean felt.”

In her next match, Nelson-Dunbar was ushered out of the tournament by Michaela Washington, 5-7, 7-5, 6-0. “I was really bad — I could barely move that day,” Nelson-Dunbar remembered.

She earned $775 in prize money for the week, and Hepner, who stayed with a local family during the tournament to reduce travel costs, took home $475 for her efforts, or about $73 an hour on court.

Among the astonishing elements to the match was this: If Hepner had won the epic rally, she would have forced a third set, and who knows how long the match might have lasted.

DAVE SEMINARA

NYTIMES

POINTS

The top five players -- Del Potro must now be included in that group -- will have no less than three weeks off after the Open before returning to the ATP wars and, while most of them are signed to play at least four events, Rafael Nadal's plans are not yet clear.

He's recovering from an abdominal injury and is signed into only Shanghai (Oct. 12-18), Paris and the Masters Cup in London.

Here's a player by player breakdown:

* 1. Federer. Has 11,240 ranking points with 1,400 to defend the rest of the year, including 500 at Basel and 450 from Madrid during 2008. He'll reappear Oct. 5 at Tokyo, then play Basel, Paris and Masters Cup. He's currently 1,695 points ahead of No. 2 Nadal, but Nadal has 700 fewer points to defend. There are approximately 5,000 points left out there among Masters Cup, Paris, Basel, Tokyo, Shanghai and Valencia.

* 2. Nadal. Has 8,845 ranking points with 700 to defend the rest of the year, including 450 from Madrid and 250 from Paris. His scheduled return to play is Oct. 12 at Shanghai, but that's subject to his recovery from injury.

* 3. Andy Murray. Has 8,390 ranking points with a whopping 2,350 to defend the rest of 2009, including 1,000 for winning Madrid last year, 600 from Masters Cup and 500 at St. Petersburg. He's going to have a difficult time holding onto No. 3 by year's end. He's scheduled back at Tokyo with Shanghai, Valencia, Paris and Masters Cup on his dance card.

* 4. Novak Djokovic. Has 7,480 ranking points with 1,840 to defend the rest of the season, including 1,300 for winning Masters Cup. On his schedule is Shanghai, Basel, Paris, Masters Cup.

* 5. Del Potro. Has 6,825 ranking points with 1,200 to defend the rest of the season, including 250 at Madrid. He'll play Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris and Masters Cup.

If you subtract the points Djokovic and Del Potro have to defend the rest of this season from their current totals, Djokovic would still be ranked No. 4, but by only 15 points ahead of Del Potro, who has a serious chance to rise to No. 3 by the end of the year.

Charles Bricker

WHAAAAATTTTTTT???????

ALL ABOUT HER

 

There's no chance Serena will be suspended from one or more future Grand Slams, a ruling currently being pondered by the International Tennis Federation. The TV networks simply won't allow it. Serena is a bigger story than ever, certain to cause a buzz wherever she goes. It won't necessarily be a negative buzz, either. When she spent Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, she reportedly moved cheerily through the celebrity world she so desperately covets. I'm sure someone said to her, "Girl, you went off!" - with hearty laughter all around.

As for how Serena handled the whole thing, well, that's an entirely different story. More than once in the aftermath of her vicious language toward a lineswoman, who had called her for a foot fault that put her one point away from losing the match (Williams lost the match when the umpire assessed her another point for the dissent), she described herself as a "sincere" person. That is hardly the case. Her reaction to this crisis was the very definition of insincerity.

First, during her postmatch interview, she completely distanced herself from blame, speaking in absurdly general terms. Then she let one of her handlers draw up a nebulous written statement, explaining how "everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job" and how "I look forward to continuing the journey." I was surprised there wasn't some sort of toothpaste ad at the end.

She should have been right back at the National Tennis Center that following day, demanding some air time with CBS. She needed to get before the cameras with a heartfelt apology to the lineswoman, Clijsters, the fans at courtside and especially young kids who were watching on television. Instead, she and her handlers issued an "amended" written statement, containing the proper words but offering no glimpse of Serena in person, and she was off to her nightlife frivolity.

By the time she came into the interview room, following her women's doubles title with sister Venus on Monday, a USTA official was there to monitor the scene, making sure that all but the initial questions would be about doubles. (Imagine the paranoia that goes into that kind of thinking; Serena needs to explain herself, and the USTA would prefer some sort of gag order.)

Serena decided, on her own, that she could handle the pertinent questions. She did all right, but once again seemed to lack conviction. When she insisted, again, that she couldn't remember what she'd said to that lineswoman, she lost a ton of credibility. Serena has spent her whole life trying to act like a champion on court, hiding her rage against all forms of injustice, and she finally snapped. I think she would recall the words quite well.

So there you go. Hardly a mention of Kim Clijsters or Juan Martin del Potro, the most worthy champions, but that is the columnist's role: Write what the people are talking about. Ugliness, once again, has ascended to the forefront.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/15/SPJD19NNIJ.DTL#ixzz0RHg4l6RS

LOST IN THE STORM

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro bludgeoned Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-2 6-2 at the U.S. Open on Sunday to reach his first grand-slam final.

The sixth seed overpowered the Spaniard in two hours, 20 minutes of outstanding hitting to set up a final against either five-times champion Roger Federer or fourth seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

"It's very difficult for me to speak at this moment. This is my favourite tournament and I can't believe this moment," a beaming Del Potro said in a courtside interview.

"I am very close to my dream, to win this tournament. I hope I can do it. I am very happy to be here. Tomorrow I will fight until the final point, if I win or lose, I think this is the best moment of my life."

Nadal went into the match struggling with a right abdominal injury and his service speed was clearly down, allowing Del Potro to be aggressive on his returns.

SERENA SWEARS SHE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING

"If I could, I would take this &%$#@! ball and shove it down your &%$#@! throat and kill you," Williams said."I swear to God I'm... going to take this &%$#@! ball and shove it down your &%$#@! throat, you hear that? I swear to God, bitch"

SERENA PENALTY: 3%

Serena Williams was fined $10,000 Sunday for a profanity-laced tirade directed at a U.S. Open line judge, and an investigation is under way to determine whether there should be additional punishment.

The $10,000 penalty — not quite 3 percent of the $350,000 in prize money Williams earned by reaching the semifinals at Flushing Meadows — is the maximum on-site fine that can be issued for unsportsmanlike conduct at a Grand Slam tournament.

The U.S. Open said in a statement that the Grand Slam Committee Administrator will "determine if the behavior of Ms. Williams warrants consideration as a major offense for which additional penalties can be imposed."

ANOTHER VIEW

Trailing 4-6 5-6 15-30, Williams launched into a second serve but the bespectacled lineswoman sitting at the baseline held up her finger to call her on a foot-fault -- meaning the American had served a double-fault to go match point down.

Astounded by the verdict, Williams flipped out and marched to the official shouting. She waved her racket ominously in the lineswoman's direction and then shook a ball in her clenched fist as she threatened "to shove it down" her throat.

"I swear to God I'm... going to take this... ball and shove it down your... throat, you hear that? I swear to God. You better be glad -- you better be glad that I'm not, I swear." Williams told the line-judge in her expletive-laden rant.

Having already received a warning earlier in the match for smashing a racket, Williams was handed an automatic point penalty for a second violation which gave Clijsters the match 6-4 7-5.

The Los Angeles Times was in no doubt about exactly what punishment should be meted out.

"Let's get right to the point. Serena Williams should be fined heavily and suspended for a while from the pro tennis tour. Let's see what kind of guts tennis, a sport normally soft on discipline, has this time. If she were a football player, she'd be out for the season."

EVERY WORD WRITTEN BY SERENA

"Last night, everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly," Williams said in a statement released Sunday by a public relations firm.

"I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience."

Unfortunately, the lies and obfuscation of PR are beginning to do their work.

RACKET AND SPIN

"All hell broke loose" is how original bad boy of tennis John McEnroe described drama queen Serena Williams as she went kicking and screaming out of the U.S. Open on Saturday.

Williams has made a cameo appearance in medical drama ER and lists acting as a hobby but she does not need to rely on a script to produce her own drama.

On Day 13 of the hardcourt major, wide-eyed fans at Flushing Meadows witnessed the latest episode to unfold around the 11-times grand slam champion.

Facing Kim Clijsters in a hotly anticipated semi-final showdown at the Open, an angry outburst from Williams resulted in one of the most bizarre endings to a match on a grand slam stage.

With the Belgian on the brink of victory, defending champion Williams was called for a foot-fault on a second serve to go match point down.

Astounded by the verdict, Williams immediately saw red and threateningly marched up to the official. She waved her racket ominously and thrust the ball into the lineswoman's face as she launched into a tirade.

"I swear to God I'm... going to take this... ball and shove it down your... throat, you hear that? I swear to God," Williams told the line-judge.

The lineswoman reported her to umpire Louise Engzell for verbal abuse. Having already received a warning earlier in the match for smashing a racket, Williams was handed an automatic point penalty for "unsportsmanlike conduct," giving Clijsters the match and a final date with Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Not since McEnroe was defaulted from a fourth round match against Mikael Pernfors at the 1990 Australian Open -- when he swore at the umpire, supervisor, and referee -- has a singles player suffered such an ignominious exit from such a high profile match.

But Williams remained unrepentant for her tirade even though the lineswoman told the chair umpire that she felt threatened.

"She says she felt threatened? She said this to you?" she asked the reporter who fielded the question.

"I've never been in a fight my whole life, so I don't know why she should have felt threatened."

The ball leaves her racket with a great deal of spin!

REUTERS

NOT SO SERENE, EH!!

"IF I COULD, I WOULD TAKE THIS ******** BALL AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR ****** THROAT AND KILL YOU" -Serena's threat to the linesman who called her footfault.

 

Of course, Serena 's denying everything, but the audience behind the linesman heard it all.

The interesting question is - will the USTA will take further action?

Probably, they'll run and hide, not wanting to be embroiled in all of the issues involved.

COST HITS THE ROOF

The cost of building a roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium is too expensive and may not be practical for the U.S. Open, the head of the U.S. Tennis Association said Saturday.

A persistent drizzle over the last few days has created a scheduling nightmare for the Open, but USTA executive director Gordon Smith said a roof was not the answer.

"Would I love to have a roof? Absolutely," he said. "But it is certainly one of those situations where you have to really look at the practical aspects.

"In '07 we didn't have a single session rained out. In '08 we had one, and thus far, knock on wood, hopefully we'll only have one rained out in '09."

However, this is the second straight year the U.S. Open has been forced into a Monday finish because the rain came late in the tournament and gave organizers no wiggle room.

"Had they been earlier in the tournament, we wouldn't be in the position where we have to end on Monday," he said.

"So you weigh that against the potential costs of a roof on Ashe of $100 million or more, and it's a tough decision, especially when we're trying to figure out the best ways to utilize the revenues to promote our sport."

SATURDAY MATCHES

LEIGH CHEERS JESSE

Blue shirt - third from right.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/photos/2009-09-05/200909051252171069617.html?glryid=2009-09-05/20090905

DELPO LOVES NY

"My dream is to win this tournament," the soft-spoken Argentine said after stopping Marin Cilic 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-1 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

"I'm so close to do it."

Del Potro will meet with third seeded Rafael Nadal or number 11 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile with a spot in the final at stake.

With a 15-1 record since Wimbledon, the sixth-ranked Del Potro is on a hot streak. He admits to being comfortable with the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.

When asked what he liked about New York and the Open, he did not hesitate.

"Everything. The stadium, the crowds, the people, the city. Everything. It's so lovely," he said. "I like to play here in U.S., and I like hardcourts. I like this tournament.

"It's my favourite surface, the biggest stadium than other (grand slams). Many Argentines come here to see the match, so for me, it's the best one."

REUTERS

RAIN DELAY

After 10 days of clear weather, rain and winds swept through Flushing Meadows Thursday, tossing the U.S. Open's final weekend into disarray and stranding Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez in the midst of their quarter-final.

For the second year running, Nadal faces the prospect of playing a string of successive days at the year's last major if he is to win the only grand slam missing from his collection.

Nadal was leading Gonzalez 7-6 6-6 with the Chilean serving at 2-3 in the tiebreak when a second shower burst halted Day 11 proceedings at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The eventual winner of the last men's quarter-final will meet Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who had battled through blustery conditions to beat Croatian 16th seed Marin Cilic 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-1.

Nadal and Gonzalez will resume their battle no earlier than 2 pm today [Friday] following the first women's semi-final pitting champion Serena Williams against Kim Clijsters.

REUTERS

FEAST TURNS TO FAMINE

 

Gourmet tennis for the gourmand.

First match around 2 pm and the second at 7 pm.

Am I swinish for wanting more, sir?

QUARTERS

SPECTATOR PARTICIPATION

A man was arrested at the U.S. Open after running on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium to kiss Rafael Nadal following his victory Tuesday night.

Tournament spokesman Tim Curry said police arrested the man for interference with a sporting event.

"We're reviewing what happened and then will determine if we have to make any changes to our on-court security procedures," Curry said.

When Nadal finished beating Gael Monfils, the spectator ran out of the stands and approached the Spanish star on the sideline before security guards intervened. It's the latest in a series of similar episodes at major tennis events, including when a man went up to Roger Federer during the French Open final and tried to place a hat on his head.

"For me, it wasn't a problem. The guy was really nice," Nadal said. "He said, 'I love you,' and he kissed me."

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/tennis/09/09/nadal.fan.ap/index.html?eref=si_tennis#ixzz0QcmJQ9Mt

MEN'S DRAW - TUESDAY

MEN'S DRAW

POSITIVE RESULT

 

Check-out time finally came for Jesse Witten.

He spent two weeks at Flushing Meadows, the first working his way through U.S. Open qualifying and the second pulling off two upsets, then putting a scare into No. 4 Novak Djokovic before finally bowing out.

Could this run, which ended with a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3 loss to Djokovic on Saturday, be a career changer for the 276th-ranked player?

"I hope it is, because I mean, I don't want to deal with being ranked 200, 300 anymore," Witten said. "It would be nice to be able to use this."

Players ranked 200 or 300 travel alone, get few perks and often find themselves in the spot Witten was in earlier in the week, when he and a few buddies who came to watch him all crashed in his hotel room in Manhattan. A night or two, they figured. Instead, the stay lasted a whole week, the fan base grew and Witten found himself trying to parcel out his allotment of 22 tickets.

"Finally, I'm like, 'OK, I can't do it,"' he said. "I put one of them in charge of it."

Witten earned $48,000 for his trip through qualifying and into the third round. His ranking will rise about 70 spots, as well. It will keep him in the game - not always a given for a 26-year-old four-time NCAA All-American from Kentucky.

"It makes me want to keep playing. It gives me some money to keep playing," he said. "I love tennis. I love competing. It's a tough lifestyle, obviously, when you're in the lower levels."

AP

WITTEN BELONGS

Seven months after he nearly gave up the game and two weeks after he was dropped by his clothing sponsor, American Jesse Witten gave the world's fourth-best player a huge scare at the U.S. Open on Saturday.

The 26-year-old, who needed a wildcard to even get into the Open's qualifying event, served for a two-sets-to-one lead in their third-round encounter before the Serb finally scraped through 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-4.

In his on-court speech, Djokovic admitted it must have been hard to distinguish which one of them was the world number four, while the 276th-ranked Witten said his $48,000 paycheck would allow him to compete more.

"It makes me want to keep playing," Witten said. "It gives me some money to keep playing. So now I can afford to keep playing for the rest of the year, at least."

At the start of the year, Witten was struggling on the Futures circuit - two levels below the main tour - and considering hanging up his rackets.

To add insult to injury, the day before the qualifying event was due to begin at Flushing Meadows, Witten was dropped by his clothing sponsor.

But he battled through three matches to qualify for the main draw and his two wins - over Igor Andreev and Maximo Gonzalez - will take him up around 100 places when the new rankings are released after the U.S. Open.

"I don't want to deal with being ranked 200, 300 anymore," he said. "It would be nice to be able to use this. It helps to see where I am, playing with some guys that are in the top 100 and top 10."

Once he had settled down, Witten was far from overawed against Djokovic as he hit back from 5-2 down to win the first set and served for the third set before eventually bowing out.

"The biggest thing for me usually is I feel like I don't belong," Witten said. "I never really said it or tell people that.

"Just in my mind, I don't know how good I am, so it's good to kind of see that I can play with these guys and I kind of belong a little bit here."

While the likes of world number one Roger Federer live it up in a $3,075 per night hotel suite in New York, Witten has been enjoying the more simple things in life at the Open.

"I don't have to worry about conserving one shirt," he said. "I can just go through them and just throw them in the laundry bag.

"You get chauffeured around with the cars. Everything is nice here. This is the best tournament in the world. You can't beat this."

REUTERS

WITTEN-DJOKOVIC CLOSE

Fourth seed Djokovic barely knew what hit him as he came face-to-face with a player who had never won a tour match before this week but American Jessie Witten thrilled the hollering home fans for almost 3-1/2 hours before he succumbed 6-7 6-3 7-6 6-4.

Being on a roll is something Witten had never experienced before this week.

Struggling to make ends meet on the lower echelons of tennis the 26-year-old came close to quitting the sport earlier this year. Things went from bad to worse on the eve of Open as he became a victim of the global credit crunch when he was dropped by his clothing sponsor.

But handed a wildcard into the qualifying draw, the 276th ranked Witten has made the most of his opportunity to get some free laundry done at the expense of U.S. Open organisers.

Domestic chores aside, for over an hour he responded to the rhythmic chants of "Jess-ie, Jess-ie" ringing around Louis Armstrong Stadium as he tormented a racket-bashing Djokovic.

But in the end, he did not have the firepower to subdue Djokovic, who applauded the American's heroics before telling the crowd. "It was hard to tell who was the number four player out there."

"Once I started playing, I mean, we're having rallies, and you don't really think of the rankings. You're thinking strategy more than numbers," said Witten, who had to request almost two dozen tickets from the organisers to satisfy the demands of his friends and family.

Despite his defeat, Witten hoped the biggest payday of his career -- $48,000 for reaching the last 32 - will allow him to prolong his career for "at least the rest of the year."

REUTERS

JESSE AND DJOKOVIC - 11 AM SAT

 

I know ---- Federer plays at 11 am too, but I'll be watching Jesse's match on atdhe.net

Try the full monitor view. The feed from the TENNIS CHANNEL is quite good.

DJOKOVIC NEXT!!!!!!

WOOT!!!!!!! WITTEN WINS

JESSE WITTEN

You can’t fault Jesse Witten for his timing.

The former Lely state tennis champion won his first ATP Tour singles match in seven tries on Tuesday morning ... in the men’s singles main draw of the U.S. Open.

Witten romped over No. 29 seed Igor Andreev of Russia in straight sets for a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 first-round victory.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Witten said. “The last couple of weeks I’ve been playing well, and I’m not even sure why. I’m just going to roll with it.

“I’m hitting the ball well,” he added. “I’m dictating play well without making a lot of errors. Everything is bugging a lot of guys, even a guy like him who is so good. I really don’t know what to say about it. I’m not going to argue it.”

Witten, 26, took the first set 6-4, and then shut out Andreev in the second. Andreev led the third, 2-1, before Witten broke him to take a 3-2 lead, then went on to close out the match.

Witten will face Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina in the second round. Gonzalez defeated Karol Beck 2-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday.

The winner between Gonzalez and Witten likely will face fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic in the third round.

Witten said he sought advice from John McEnroe, his World TeamTennis teammate, this week.

“We’ve gotten closer over the last five or six years,” Witten said. “He was trying to give me some pointers, helping me out. He usually doesn’t say too much when it comes to somebody else’s game or coaching like that. That meant a lot, just to know that he was there. And he called me after I qualified. It makes you feel appreciated and what you’re doing makes it worth it.”

Witten qualified for the Open on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Austria’s Alexander Peya (No. 259). Witten, a former University of Kentucky All-American, is currently ranked No. 270 in the world.

In 2006, Witten qualified for the U.S. Open but lost to Paul Goldstein in the first round of the main draw. His career-high ranking came in October 2006 when he reached No. 171.

Witten reached the final of the NCAA Championships as a sophomore in 2002 and was a first-team All-SEC singles selection all four years and Kentucky’s first five-time All-American (four singles; one doubles).

NAPLES DAILY

JESSE - 11 AM ON COURT 11

WITTEN EXTENDS HIS STAY IN NY

Jesse Witten's pals from his days at the University of Kentucky are going to be sticking around at the U.S. Open longer than they expected.

And longer than he did, too.

The 276th-ranked Witten earned the first tour-level victory of his career Tuesday at Flushing Meadows, upsetting No. 29-seeded Igor Andreev of Russia 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

Witten is originally from Naples, Fla., and he played college tennis at Kentucky, reaching the NCAA singles championship match in 2002. He's struggled at times as a pro, even considering moving on to another career not long ago, but he stuck with it — and when he plays in important tournaments, he can count on a rooting section.

"Whenever I get to a big show, they're definitely there. They're always supporting me," Witten said of his college buddies.

He packed about five people into his room in New York this week — "Don't tell the hotel," he said with a smile — and now that Witten has a Grand Slam match victory to his credit, their stay in the Big Apple has been extended.

As Witten prepared to face Andreev, he said, "everybody seemed to be my coach the last few days."

One particular person provided some advice that stood out, though.

"I hit with John McEnroe the other day, and he was really being helpful," Witten said. "He was trying to give me pointers."

They worked, apparently.

AP

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JESSE BEATS ANDREEV

JESSE WITTEN LEADS ANDREEV