Not Bad for Two Weeks' Work

It's been a pleasant couple days for Venus Williams.

She began her post-Australian run by defending titles in both Dubai and Acapulco and then returning to New York in an attempt to improve her runner-up showing at last year's Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup.

This was the second year Madison Square Garden hosted the exhibition, featuring four of the best female athletes in the sport -- seven-time Major winner Williams, reigning French Open champ and world #3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, last year's comeback queen Kim Clijsters, and '08 Roland Garros titlist Ana Ivanovic, a replacement for the younger Williams who withdrew with a leg injury.



This was the second tournament I've had the chance to watch at the Garden, and I can honestly say that this city really does bring the best out of these players -- I was immediately amazed by the quality of tennis last night.

Ivanovic, who hasn't been a major force in the sport for quite some time, kicked the night off against Clijsters by breaking the former #1 in her first service game. She even held match point before being forced to a tiebreak, and though she struggled on serve, she certainly showed more than glimpses of the champion she once was. Even still Kim ran away quickly with the decider -- after a much more competitive set than I would have thought -- gaining the first entry to the final.

The next match-up featured Kuznetsova and Williams, a pair who'd split their last eight meetings. Here again the ladies traded breaks to start, but for the next several games both Svets and Venus displayed the kind of tennis that champions are made of -- phenomenal rallies, awesome court coverage and bullet-fast shots that sent the crowd to their feet more than a few times. Ultimately, with a double fault by the Russian that didn't do the set justice, Venus advanced to set up her twelfth career match against Kim.

The final was played in a traditional, best-of-three format and, if I hadn't known better, I'd never have guessed this was "just" an exhibition. Venus got off to a quick start, breaking early in the first and never looking back. She seemed to get in a little trouble with the net, though, and some brilliant shot-making from Kim evened things up in the second.

It looked like momentum had shifted to the Belgian, but the New York fans got behind their girl. With Clijsters leading 4-2, Williams pulled even and had a chance to break for the tournament. Finally after three hard-fought sets, Venus captured the Billie Jean King Cup, her third trophy in as many weeks.



From start to finish it was a tournament that lived up to the hype -- the crowd, the players, everyone got into the matches and was rooting boisterously for their favorite. And other than seeing Venus eventually take the title, there was a lot to be proud of -- I was impressed by Ivanovic's ability to stick it to her opponent again, I was heartened by the quality of points and that no return was allowed to go unpunished. And I was thrilled to see championship tennis back in Manhattan.

In the meantime, Venus goes home with another trophy, silencing critics -- including myself -- who'd thought she may have passed her prime. But now securely back in the top five, she's a legitimate threat at any tournament, which bodes well going into the spring season.

And if last night's matches are any indication, any one of these ladies could give her another challenge as well!

One Taste Is Never Enough

With the U.S. Open just a few days away, some of the brightest stars in tennis showed up for another cause tonight -- the tenth annual Taste of Tennis was held at Manhattan's W Hotel, with proceeds from the event going to benefit the Food Bank of New York.

Current top-ten players like Andy Roddick, Victoria Azarenka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as well as legend Billie Jean King paired up with chefs at some of the city's prime restaurants to serve up some quality eats from citrus marinated hamachi to chilled summer corn soup, miso chocolate brownies to waffles with adult beer floats.

Puerto Rico's star chef Roberto Trevino of Budatai told me why he was so excited to be at the event:

"Other than it just being ultra fabulous, and it being in the absolute capital of the world, if you ask me, in New York City. It brings together people here at the W with great food. Chefs aren't usually paired with tennis players, so for me it's a great pleasure."

The "Green Carpet" rolled out on Forty-Ninth Street on one of the (thankfully) most beautiful nights of the summer so far as every manner of celebrity showed up. Melissa Joan Hart, promoting her run on this season's Dancing With the Stars, the Mets' Carlos Delgado and reigning beauty queens from Albania and Kosovo were all in attendance.



"Real" New York City housewife Bethenny Frankel (who is, by the way, not a housewife at all) was surprisingly refreshing and clear about what brought her to midtown:

"I'm bartending with Andy Roddick, so I have high priorities...I made all my Skinny Girl cocktails and Skinny Guy cocktails using the Rums of Puerto Rico. It's cool that all the tennis players are going to be cooking...with all the pressure of the tennis games coming up. It's a little light, a little fluid, a little eat, drink, and be merry."

As for the players themselves, they were excited not just about the Open, but about testing their chops in the kitchen. Newly domesticized Roddick said that married life didn't bring him any cooking skills, and seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva confessed her affinty and longing for a cake her mother used to make while she was growing up.

And with the start of play only a few days away, the athletes were keeping their upcoming battles in perspective.

Charleston champ Sabine Lisicki faces Aravane Rezai in her debut match: "Every round is difficult. It's a Grand Slam, so nothing will be easy. Everybody wants to win, so I'll just focus on one round at a time and we'll see." Meanwhile, Aleksandra Wozniak reflected on her defeat of Svetlana Kuznetsova at Eastbourne: "It's definitely a life experience. You compete against the best players in the world every week, and each win makes you feel like you belong there. It makes you feel like you can achieve more, and it gives you more belief and confidence."



And for me the entire night just whet my appetite for what's to come in the next few weeks in Flushing Meadows. As always, the U.S. Open somehow becomes the most exciting Grand Slam of every year -- and I can't wait for the action to start!

By the way, thanks to the WTA for this much more extensive footage! (Yup, that's me in the background!)

Where the Stars Come Out to Play

It's been almost nine years since the women's year-end championships have been played in Madison Square Garden, but tonight four of the sport's top athletes met in the great arena on 34th Street in New York for Tennis Night in America.

BNP Paribas sponsored the showdown between the winners of the last four majors, Serena and Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic, and the player that ended last year with the #1 ranking, Jelena Jankovic. The winner would receive the vaunted Billie Jean King Cup as well as $400K in prize money -- more than Venus won in Dubai last month.



The semifinals were one-set, no-ad matches and pitted Venus against Jelena and Serena against Ana -- obviously the intent was to give the New York crowd an all-Williams final.

And that's exactly what we got.

Jelena, who actually holds a winning record over Venus, held her own for most of the match, even tried to engage the crowd and joke about challenges with the chair umpire -- but ultimately she was unspectacular and fell 4-6 in the end. And Ana, despite a handful of break chances, could not convert and eventually was defeated 3-6.

The final, played with traditional scoring in a best-of-three set format, was one we've seen a dozen times before -- actually nineteen times. And, somewhat surprisingly, Venus held a 10-9 record against her sister, most recently winning in Dubai a week and a half ago. Arguably, the Williams have had the most successful years on tour, with the younger sister winning her fourth Australian Open and the elder claiming two titles in the last two weeks.

You knew they'd be playing as though a Grand Slam title were on the line.



The match started off somewhat sloppily -- both women sliced a few backhands and shanked a few volleys as they tried to get a handle on the court. It wasn't until halfway through the first set, after trading breaks, that either hit their stride. After a twenty-four point ninth game -- and the disappearance of a line umpire -- Serena finally took the early lead, 6-4. She won the second set, 6-3.

The tournament was certainly entertaining, an exhibition in every sense, but the event was as much a celebration of the venue, the city and female athletes as it was of the score. MSG hasn't been a regular on the tour since 2000 and with this event, after last year's Roger Federer-Pete Sampras match, it could be making a case for a return to the circuit. And by bringing the sport's top athletes to such a central location in Manhattan, it not only raises the players' profile, but that of tennis.

And, for me, it's finally a home court I can finally cheer for!

The Other Type of Team Tennis

Every so often while switching channels I happen across a curious game of tennis.

The basics are there -- but with a few twists. The usual green or, now more common, blue hard courts are replaced with multi-colored turfs, alternating purples and reds with the normal palate. Doubles teams feature unlikely pairings: Lindsay Davenport and Elena Likhovtseva, Martina Hingis and Mark Merklein. Coaches advise players during change-overs and co-ed teammates cheer from the sidelines. The scoreboard is labeled not with players' names but with strange monikers like the Boston Lobsters or the Newport Beach Breakers.

This isn't Davis or Fed Cup, it isn't the Olympics and it certainly isn't a Grand Slam.

World TeamTennis was founded by the great Billie Jean King and her former husband Larry in the 1970s. Billie Jean, who's been such a proponent of equality in tennis and elsewhere, campaigning for prize parity among other causes, envisioned a forum where the best names in the game, men and women, could compete on the same court for a common goal.



She succeeded.

Billie Jean has attracted players like Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Tracy Austin, the Williams sisters and Anna Kournikova. WTT has also served as a training ground of sorts -- both Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova started in the Pro League as teenagers.

The WTT format is similar to a lot of things you might have seen, but not entirely like anything. Teams are comprised of four players, two men and two women, who compete in a total of five events in any one meet. There's one set each of men's and women's singles and men's, women's and mixed doubles. Sets are only five games long, there are nine-point tiebreaks to decide 4-4 deadlocks, and possible overtimes and super-tiebreaks. Instant replay -- not just a challenge system -- is the norm, there's no such thing as advantages, players wear jerseys that bear their names.

The 2009 schedule, announced last week, kicks off July 2nd and ends with the Championship weekend July 24th through the 26th. While the players' roster won't be announced until February, we can certainly expect some of the top names to return. And defending champions, Albany's New York Buzz, will be eager to repeat.

Outside the Pro cicuit, one of the most interesting things about WTT is the ability for anyone to play. Like in beach tennis, you can start your own team -- and if you're not quite so ambitious the official website tells you how to join an existing league in your area. You might not be able to play doubles with the Bryan brothers -- at least not right away -- but it's one step closer!

See you out there!