Dimitrov Beats Berdych in Rotterdam; USTA Hires Armando; ITA Team Indoor Draws Released
2008 Wimbledon and US Open junior champion Grigor Dimitrov posted his first ATP tour victory today in Rotterdam when he defeated 23rd ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It doesn't get any easier for the wild card, who is likely to play world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the second round, if the Spainard beats Simone Bolelli of Italy on Wednesday. For more, see this story from The Sofia Echo.
The USTA announced today that Hugo Armando has been hired as a National Coach and will be based in Boca Raton. For the complete press release, see usta.com. And who says no one remembers who was No. 1 in the 12s? The USTA does!
The draws have been released for the ITA Team Indoor Championships this weekend in Chicago and Madison. The men are seeded 1 through 16, the women only 1 through 8. In the men's first round, Stanford vs. Florida and Tennessee vs. Baylor will be on my must-see list for Friday, while in the women's first round, Georgia vs. USC and Stanford vs. Notre Dame will go a long way in deciding the Pac-10's strength this year. For the women's draw, click here; for the men's, click here.
15 comments:
Colette,
Did they switch up the draws to avoid conference matchups and rematches? At least, it looks that way, moving around Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida, to avoid conference matchups and since Florida already played Baylor this year.
And for the women, how is Wisconsin technically seeded 9th? I know they want to avoid them playing Northwestern to open, but then they should've been paired with Cal. Miami is underrated, that should be a great opening match with Northwestern. USC-UGA and Stanford-ND should also be great. And UCLA-Florida have had some epic matches at NCAA's over the years, that's another one to look out for.
Dimitrov just beat Raymond sarmiento in three sets and now he takes down berdych!! That says alot about american junior tennis. We are heading in the right direction.
Hugo is a good guy, Im happy for him. Hopefully he can help our juniors out on the clay.
I just have to say, "Wow!" It looks like he will only spend a year in college.
Stringman said: I just have to say, "Wow!" It looks like he will only spend a year in college."
Who are you talking about? Sarmiento? It can't be Dimitrov because he already turned pro.
I was wondering what experience Armando has as a coach - playing and coaching are two very different skill sets. Then I checked his ITF Player bio, where his coach is listed as . . . Hugo Armando! That's his father, as it turns out.
So, nothing at all against Armando, but why not hire an experienced coach with a track record rather than a player just off the tour?
Projection:
Ohio State
UT
UCLA
UVA
USC
UGA (VERY close, though)
Stanford
UT
Ohio State
UVA
USC
UT
UVA
USC
UVA
KDT,
What have our "experienced" coaches done recently? Not much is the answer. Sam Querrey is the only one in the Top100 and hes not a USTA product. Our juniors have dominated, then turned pro and done nothing since the Ginepri/Fish/Roddick all turned pro. You can throw in Blake and Dent if you want, although they turned pro earlier than the others.
The facts are that there has been a serious gap in American mens tennis. The crew that came through in '02,'03,'04 and '05 won trophy after trophy in the juniors and right now none of them are in the Top100 unless you count Querrey who is really an '06.
Something has happened with them making the transition and its not a lack of physical skills, most of them are big kids with huge games. I wonder what would have happened to Ryan Sweeting if he hadnt jumped ship with the Bahamas and boarded the U.S.T.A.
I'm shocked that someone with the moniker "Wahoo" would pick UVA to win the tournament. Shocked, I tell you!
Please remember to use a name, as anonymous comments aren't published. If I could remove the anonymous option I would, but I can't, unless I implement a registration procedure.
Okay Austin - we want to hear your take on the Indoor Championship. You seem to be always spot on with your predictions?
Austin, you make some very good points. I'm not sure Armando is the answer to the problems you point out -- we can hope that he will be, but there's no track record to go on, is there?
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any coherent plan for turning talented juniors into successful pros. Millions of dollars ($10.5 million in '07) are budgeted to junior development, with little to show for it. While we're promised more regional developmental centers, the USTA doesn't see fit to give us the details of how this money will be spent going forward.
Remember, this is the association that spent $60 million to build 12 indoor courts at the tennis center in Flushing. At $5 million a court, it tells you how efficient the USTA is with its members' money.
5.0 Player, sorry I had him confused with the Russian, Alexey Grigorov who will be going to Texas A&M.
"Remember, this is the association that spent $60 million to build 12 indoor courts at the tennis center in Flushing. At $5 million a court, it tells you how efficient the USTA is with its members' money."
There's been a lot of talk the last 7 years about turning the NTC into a regional high performance center but it has yet to happen.
My (worth 2 cents) view. I think the draw is top heavy. I think the top 3 indoor teams are OSU, UCLA & UVa. IMO it should be just the first two but the Bruins injuries are their one knock. I think Texas is a better team outdoors than inside, especially at #1. I don't understand how UGA is #3. Lose Helgeson & Flores and only sign one person. I think there are more than two teams better. My guess for the semis. OSU d. UCLA & USC over UT. USC could lose to Stanford but if they get past it I could see a run with their dubs Farah & a strong lower part of the lineup. OSU wins it all it's their time. They're due.
Post a Comment