Daily Racquet

The US Open Series Moves To Washington, DC and California

The "Greatest Road Trip In Sports" is once again on the move. This week the bus takes the men to Washington, DC and the women head to Carlsbad, California for  week three of the 2007 US Open Series. 

Top-seed Andy Roddick is joined in the draw by Tommy Haas, Marat Safin Tim Henman and the Bryan Brothers at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, July 28-August 5.

Tickets for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, call 202.721.9500, or visit the tournament website at www.leggmasontennisclassic.com. 

In Carlsbad, Venus Williams is the tournament favorite at the Acura Classic. Williams, who made headlines earlier this summer when she captured her fourth Wimbledon crown, won the Acura Classic three years in a row (’00, ’01, ’02).  Because of her long history and commitment to the San Diego event (she first played here in 1995), she was presented with the Acura Classic Loyalty Award in 2002.  Her defeat of Marion Bartoli to win this year’s Wimbledon championship moved her back into the top 20 rankings on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for the first time in a year. Currently #17 in the world, the former #1 ranked star has 35 career Tour singles tiles to her credit and is an Olympic Gold Medal holder in both singles and doubles.

Now in its 24th year, the Acura Classic is one of the premier events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and one of the largest women’s tennis tournaments in the world.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Acura Classic, fans can call the Tournament Box Office at 760.438.5683, or visit www.acuraclassic.com. 

Dubbed “The Greatest Road Trip in Sports" — the US Open Series features the world’s top pros in a city-to-city chase that takes them across North America through 10 tournaments, nine cities, two countries and six weeks, ultimately ending at this sport’s ultimate event—the US Open.

If you aren't able to get out to the watch the matches live;  there will be more than 100 hours of live, national TV coverage on ESPN2, NBC and CBS, including back-to-back live tournament finals on Sundays. In addition, there will be more than 100 hours of additional US Open Series coverage on The Tennis Channel.

Don't miss the action on “The Greatest Road Trip in Sports."

Are you Radical Or Extreme?

With the new Head Tennis Bags your choices are either Radical or Extreme.

For those of you on the Radical side, the hot new bag is the  Radical Supercombi bag. With a hot new color to match the MicroGEL Radical racquet. this bag is not just another racquet bag. For starters, it features Climate Controlled Technology which is a thermal foil that helps to protect the contents of the pocket from extreme temperatures, thereby reducing the risk of damage. Add to that a padded pocket for an MP3/CD player with easy headphone access, separate wet/shoe compartments for keeping your gear organized, and practical accessory compartments for your keys, wallet, and a protected eyewear pocket for your glasses or shades. With all these compartments the bag can get heavy. No worries, it comes equipped with backpack carry straps, a quick grab handle and a top handle for easy transport. Did we mention the two racquet compartments that can hold up to 8-10 racquets? This bag is sure to stand out on the court.

And for the Extreme lovers out there, you can now get the new Extreme Backpack. This black, yellow, and white-colored backpack has an integrated shoe and wet compartment, Climate Controlled Technology for racquet protection, and an organized accessory compartment for things like MP3 players and mobile phones. The padded ergonomic and rubber coated straps and comfort handle make it a breeze to carry it with you to the courts.

Both bags are available online at Tennis Warehouse. 

"Greatest Road Trip In Sports" Makes Stops In Indianapolis and San Francisco This Week

The "Greatest Road Trip In Sports" is on the move. This week the bus takes the men to Indianapolis and the while the women take over the Stanford University campus in week two of the 2007 US Open Series. 

Top-seed Andy Roddick is joined in the draw by fellow Americans James Blake, Mardy Fish, Robby Ginepri, Justin Gimmelstob and Sam Querrey at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, July 21-29.

Roddick, who has been a crowd favorite since his first appearance in Indianapolis when he captured the 2003 crown – a feat repeated in 2004 - has a career 16-2 record on the hard courts at the Indianapolis Tennis Center. After falling to Blake in the 2006 final, Roddick teamed up with fellow American Bobby Reynolds at the Championships to win his third career ATP doubles title.

Tickets for the Indianapolis Tennis Championships can be purchased by calling 800-622-LOVE or by logging on to www.tennisindy.com. 

The Bank of the West Classic, in its 37th year, is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first women's stop of the US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $600,000. Held on Stanford University's campus at Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997 — the top-four seeds, Anna Chakvetadze (1), Marion Bartoli (2), Daniela Hantuchova (3) and Patty Schnyder (4), each received a first-round bye.

Tickets to the Bank of the West Classic can be purchased by calling the Tournament box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.

Dubbed “The Greatest Road Trip in Sports" — the US Open Series features the world’s top pros in a city-to-city chase that takes them across North America through 10 tournaments, nine cities, two countries and six weeks, ultimately ending at this sport’s ultimate event—the US Open.

So, if you can, head out to the tournaments and watch the action live. If not, head home after work, grab a cool one, kick back on the couch and watch the action on prime time television.

That's right, there will be more than 100 hours of live, national TV coverage on ESPN2, NBC and CBS, including back-to-back live tournament finals on Sundays. In addition, there will be more than 100 hours of additional US Open Series coverage on The Tennis Channel.

Don't miss the action on “The Greatest Road Trip in Sports."

Countrywide Classic Kicks Off The Greatest Road Trip In Sports

The Greatest Road Trip in Sports starts today when the 2007 US Open Series officially gets underway as professional tennis takes over the UCLA campus.

Number-one American player James Blake leads the list of players that will take to the courts at the 81st Countrywide Classic.

Blake joins two-time Los Angeles champion Tommy Haas of Germany, Chilean star Fernando Gonzalez, Scottish teen sensation Andy Murray, and the record-setting Southern California doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan.

The Countrywide Classic features a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles competition. The landmark Southern California ATP tournament is the longest running annual professional sporting event in Los Angeles, and offers total player compensation in excess of $1 million.

Dubbed “The Greatest Road Trip in Sports" — the US Open Series features the world’s top pros in a city-to-city chase that takes them across North America through 10 tournaments, nine cities, two countries and six weeks, ultimately ending at this sport’s ultimate event—the US Open. Now, tennis has a very real season, and tennis fans have discovered that singular sort of season savoring that had never before been a part of their sport.

If you live in or around LA, you can purchase tickets at countrywideclassic.com. If you're elsewhere,  head home after work, grab a cool one, kick back on the couch and watch the action on prime time television.

That's right, there will be more than 100 hours of live, national TV coverage on ESPN2, NBC and CBS, including back-to-back live tournament finals on Sundays. In addition, there will be more than 100 hours of additional US Open Series coverage on The Tennis Channel.

Don't miss the action on “The Greatest Road Trip in Sports."

Get Rowdy, Get Courtside At WTT Matches

Looking for a little untraditional tennis? If the answer is yes, World Team Tennis might be just what you're looking for.

According to founder Billie Jean King, "the only thing traditional about the league's approach to tennis is that everything is untraditional."

The regular season starts today and runs through July 25th. The season finals will be July 27-29, 2007 in Roseville, Calif. 

WTT includes 11 co-ed teams — Boston Lobsters, Delaware Smash, Houston Wranglers, Kansas City Explorers, Newport Beach Breakers, New York Buzz, New York Sportimes, Philadelphia Freedoms, Sacramento Capitals, St. Louis Aces and the Springfield Lasers —  comprised of professional tennis players and a coach.   

Lindsay Davenport, Pete Sampras, Anna Kournikova, Mardy Fish and John McEnroe are but a few of the players you'll get see up close and personal.

Things you must know before you go to a WTT match. 1.) NOISE is welcome and encouraged.  This is tennis for the fans.  Crowds are encouraged to be  loud and cheer for their favorites.  Expect music and DJ comments throughout the match.    2.) TAKE YOUR SEATS . . . whenever you want.  Unlike traditional tennis, fans may walk to  and from their seats during play.    3.) 1, 2, 3, 4 . . . WTT uses a four point scoring system.  Points are 1, 2, 3 and 4 wins the game –  no-ad scoring. 4.) PLAY IT AGAIN . . . Instant replay made its pro tennis competition debut at WTT matches in 2005.  Coaches can challenge three calls at matches where the Hawk-Eye instant replay system is in use.

King says it's hard not to love the WTT scene when crowds are actually encouraged to be loud and cheer for their favorite players, who wear their names on the backs of their jerseys — two concepts not found on the pro tour.

"You'll actually hear music throughout the match," King says. "We're literally bringing tennis to the fans. I mean, they can even walk to and from their seats during play."

Join the fun — to purchase tickets for matches in your area go to worldteamtennis.com.

Two For Deuce

Buy two subscriptions to Tennis Week Magazine and you and a friend receive two prime seats free to enjoy the smash Broadway play, Deuce, Terrence McNally's new tennis-themed Broadway show.

"I really enjoyed the play," said Pam Shriver. "It is about two doubles partners who played together at Wimbledon and years later get together to go over the directions that their lives took. I saw it with Martina Navratilova and we thought it was just terrific. Angela Lansbury is fantastic and I know anyone who enjoys tennis will enjoy this play."

Deuce tells the story of the reunion of two retired women tennis players (Lansbury and Broadway veteran Marian Seldes) who once made up a championship doubles team. When they meet again at the U.S. Open, the women — now at the end of their lives — find themselves trying to make sense of the professional partnership that brought them to the top of the sports world in their youth.

Lansbury, who recently turned 81 last performed on Broadway more than 20 years ago. She is a four-time Tony Award winner, having taken home trophies for her turns in the musicals Mame, Dear World, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd.

For more information, please contact TennisWeek.com.

The Rivalry Continues: Courier And Agassi Challenge Tennis Fans

Former tennis academy roommates and fierce competitors, Jim Courier and Andre Agassi are currently hosting two separate contests that challenge tennis fans to show off their skills with their racquet -- and their video camera. Courier's contest, titled the Wolf Blass “Boldest Play” and Agassi's contest, the HEAD “Are You Radical Enough?” may be coincidental, but their longtime rivalry may say otherwise.

Wolf Blass Wines is hereby issuing a challenge to the equipment manufacturer HEAD to see who is really more popular with tennis fans -- Courier or Agassi -- judged by the amount of entries to each contest.

To see the contests for yourself or enter the Wolf Blass Boldest Play contest, please visit: www.tennissweeps.com/wolfblass/ before July 15, 2007.

For information on the HEAD "Are you Radical Enough?" contest, please visit: head.com/radical/.