SMASH Column, Australian Open, long version
SMASH Column, Australian Open, long version ~~~
A Grand Slam is always going to produce lots of storylines. Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated came up with 50 of them and he wasn't even in Melbourne. So my column is double its usual length this week; I hope it's twice as much fun to read.
2 comments:
The rumor was that the USTA sent no coaches for the juniors because the field was 'so weak'. How disrespectful to those juniors who worked so hard to qualify to play in a grand slam tournament. Also, the director's decision to change the time and day of the doubles finals and to give the winners of one semifinals match only one hour notice after their three-set match was inexcusable. One has to wonder whether the decision to play the finals late Saturday night long after spectators had gone home would have been made if an Aussie team was playing. Hmmmmmm Thank you for sharing news no one else covers. Love your columns.
In response to the question about whether the scheduling would have happened if an Aussie was involved, you might like to ask two Aussies- Nick Lindahl and Ryan Bellamy who were due to contest the first all Australian Boys Singles Semi in god knows how long on the Friday- they got sent inside after their match started due to the diabolical scheduling. What should have been a showcase for two very underrated young aussies ended up at ten pm adjacent to a noisy air conditioner. Very unfortunate not only for the players but the integrity of the event.
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