US Open Series: A Dash for Cash

Solid gold belts are now affordable

The US Open is hurtling towards us, with main draw play beginning just days from now. Final tune-ups are taking place in New Haven and Winston-Salem. Those venues also serve as a last opportunity to accumulate US Open Series points, which give the Top 3 finishers a chance to earn a significant amount of bonus cash-money depending on how well they do in Flushing Meadows. It sounds like a fun way to boost the stakes during the American summer hard courts, but what has it done for tennis exactly?

In terms of its importance, the players don't exactly treat this part of the calendar with any more reverence. It could be argued that they don't care that much at all given how relatively weak some of the fields at the Coupe Rogers, one of the two largest tournaments in the Series, have been over the last few years. There isn't any indication that the Series has been a boon to exposure, either, with ticket sales and television viewership peaking in 2009.

However, with all of this money on the line, wouldn't the players really hunker down and try to win the Series? You would think so, but there is no real correlation to winning the Series and winning the US Open. Out of the 20 winners from 2004-2013, only four have gone on to take the trophy: Kim Clijsters, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams. Of those, one can only argue that performance in the Series spurred on Kim, who had not won a Grand Slam at that point in her career; the other three were on the short list of GOAT candidates in their respective tours at the time of their title runs.

Still, Kim Clijsters' 2005 US Open was spurred by her desire to win a Slam, not by money. Unfortunately for tennis, money remains the primary selling point of the US Open Series, and it is my biggest peeve. You see it all the time on TV, whenever an ESPN crony whips out the Series standings; it never goes without mentioning the associated cash prize. The focus on money was made apparent during last year's trophy ceremonies for Serena and Rafa, both of whom won the 2013 Series. Mary Carrillo went down and presented their trophies, but then handed them a check worth $3.6 million, exuberantly pointing out to the viewers that they have made an extra million bucks for doing the best at their jobs for essentially two tournaments. For someone who might have been sitting in front of his 12-inch TV eating pasta for the umpteenth night in a row, these words can be a bit off-putting, especially considering Serena and Rafa are two of the world's richest athletes.

Yes, these players are trying to earn a paycheck. That's why they chase appearance fees, play exhibitions during their off time, commit to a plethora of sponsor obligations, and tout candy and cheesecake and watches and their Signature Statement collection. But the US Open, one of the four most prestigious tournaments in the world, should not be reduced to a cash grab opportunity. Most of these players want to win the US Open for glory, not for money, so to treat a moment in which one has won a Grand Slam as someone winning the lottery is unfair. Serena and Rafa didn't give everything they had to win the US Open Series just for a chance have some additional change in their pockets.

What do you think of the US Open Series? Totally game or totally lame? Leave a comment and leave a dollar for my troubles. I need every penny.

P.S. I will be on site for US Open qualies on Friday! Tweet at me or come say 'hi' if you're around!

A 'Murrican Tennis Outlook

My sleep/work schedule is rejoicing tennis being back in the States. Matches are so much more fun to watch when they're on primetime television with an adult beverage in hand or well-rested on a relaxing weekend afternoon. On Friday night I watched, with heavy eyelids, Serena Williams battle back to defeat Ana Ivanovic. On Saturday, an ultimately disappointed Donald Young held his own against Milos Raonic.

Besides the Williams sisters, American tennis is going through a long-winded lull. The players are less exciting (we kinda-sorta miss you, A-Rod, but you're doing a bang up job as an analyst) and the number of events on home soil has dwindled and become more scattered, but we'll focus more on the players, or lack thereof. Given Serena's roller coaster ride of a 2014, we're forced to gaze into the crystal ball and see the future landscape of American tennis, and it's exactly what you'd expect to be looking at when confronted with a crystal ball: fog and lots of it.

Really, really sad

To be fair, the Grand Slam prospects on the women's side look pretty decent. Madison Keys has had ups and downs, but has mostly made strides in 2014. Even through her ugly patches (speaking of roller coasters...), Sloane Stephens still has considerable talent that can be honed. Vicky Duval is in the Top 100 (and kicking cancer's ass in the process) and Taylor Townsend has shone brightly on and off of the court. However, the men are a totally different story. John Isner has been lumbering in and largely out of the Top 10, Young is getting his bearings together yet again, and Steve Johnson is only beginning to make a name for himself on the main tour. Jack Sock has seen steady improvement, but Sam Querrey has been...sad.

Among all of the aforementioned names, Big John is the only one that could feasibly win a Slam by 2015. However, Jizzner's game makes any given match a toss-up, and that amounts to a <1% chance of winning seven matches in a single event (yes, I did the math). We also seemingly lack personalities that we can love (or love to hate). Serena and Sloane started to give us some of that last year, but have largely been consumed by their respective on-court woes since. Madison, Vicky, and Taylor are all likable girls, but have yet to show their on-court prowess deep at the biggest stages, leaving them fairly anonymous with casual fans.

All of that said, Serena is still #1, the tournament favorite everywhere she plays, and a household name. Venus is still plugging away and doesn't seem to be hanging it up anytime soon. Taylor is a future star in training. Sloane is Sloane, as she would say, and is still giving us something to talk about, NuvaRings and all. There were seven American boys in the last 16 of Wimbledon's Boy's Championships, two of whom faced off in the final. We may have a bit more fog to wade through, but it can be cleared pretty quickly with some strong results, especially if they can come within the next five weeks on home soil.

Thoughts? Rebuttals? Leave a comment! #MERICA