Players win, fans lose with proposed seeding change

By Charles Bricker
CBS SportsLine Tennis Writer
April 21, 1998

The 1998 U.S. Open apparently is going to be the stalking horse for an expansion to 32 seeds at the Grand Slams and if you're as disappointed by this news as I am, you ought to drop a strongly worded note to tournament director Jay Snyder at your earliest convenience.

Something along these lines should turn the trick: "Hey, Jay. I kind of like the idea of a seed being a special player with the top 16 getting the privilege. I don't find anything special in having someone seeded No. 31 or 32. Furthermore, I'm a fan. And one of the best things about the opening rounds of the Slams is that you can get these great matchups between, say, a No. 1 seed and a No. 17 player in the world.

"WELL, YOU CAN KISS THOSE matchups goodbye under your new seeding plan. File this idea in the shredder.

"Sincerely, (your name here).''

  • Snyder's business address: USTA, 70 West Red Oak Lane, White Plains, N.Y. 10604.

  • Snyder's phones: 914-696-7000 and 914-696-7167 (fax). Give him an earful.

    Why is it a bad idea?

    No doubt expanding the number of seeds has strong support from both the ATP Tour and the Corel WTA Tour.

    If you're the No. 30 player in the world, it's great to know you won't have to play a seed until the third round at the earliest (round of 32).

    If you're a top player, you'll love knowing you won't have to face some red-hot player who has just cracked the top 30. Those are just the kind of first-round matchups the top players hate. You want a challenging but not difficult time getting through that first match of a Slam.

    BUT WITH THIS ISSUE, HANG the players. The game belongs to the fans and the idea of seeding 32 players cheapens the concept of the seed.

    Real tennis fans can't wait for a Grand Slam draw to be pulled. That's when they start looking for early-round matchups. By seeding 32 players, you're taking away a lot of that. It's a throwback to the days when the first couple of rounds were gimmes for the top players.

    The idea of seeding 32 at the Slams is past the concept stage. It's deep into the serious discussion stage. But it needs to go back into the deep freezer.

    Aching Rios

    The elbow
    Marcelo Rios
    'Dunlop grapefruits' are giving Marcelo Rios headaches and elbow problems. (Allsport)
    problem that put lame-duck No. 1 Marcelo Rios out of action at least a month started last December and he can blame himself in part for not taking care of it then.

    The problem is an inflamed tendon, which wasn't too bad when he was training in Florida in December, but got worse when he got to Australia and started hitting the heavier balls used at the Open.

    He let it slide when he came back to the United States. He was hitting lighter balls that were not aggravating the injury. But the tendon also was not getting the rest it needed. He was fine winning the Lipton, using the ATP Tour balls, which are light.

    But when he played Davis Cup in Argentina, he found himself hitting what he referred to as "Dunlop grapefruits." That's where the elbow really flared up.

    Davis Cup sites

    Having disposed of Russia in Round 1 of the Davis Cup, the United States will play Belgium in the second round at home, and it probably will be in the Midwest. Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Chicago are three possibilities. The players will determine the choice of venue and with the hardcourt season beginning, this is the most convenient general area of the United States.

    The Unites States could host the final in December against Sweden and people in South Florida would love to have it at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, home of the Lipton. But that's unlikely.

    More likely is some indoor arena with 15,000-plus seats. Translation: New York, Boston or Philadelphia.

    Etc.

  • Todd Martin's stunning victory at Barcelona, Spain is the first win by an American on European clay since ... get a grip ... Pete Sampras at Rome in 1994.

  • Sampras, in Monte Carlo to get some court time, is not 100 percent. His shoulder is still a potential problem. He was turning down golfing invitations as recently as a week ago. Sampras has really got to be hurting to turn down an afternoon of golf. He hurt the shoulder three weeks ago while working on his serve in Tampa.

  • Those $64 tickets that got you a seat in the nosebleed section of the new Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open will now get you a seat, also, in the revamped Louis Armstrong Stadium, which used to be the old No. 1 stadium. A sort of two-fer. They've stripped down the upper-deck and reduced seating from 20,000 to 10,000 at the old stadium. So you get a little bit more for your $64, but you won't get any closer. The players look like ants from the upper deck of the Ashe Stadium. For the money, it's one of the worst seats in any major sports facility in the United States.

  • One other U.S. Open note: Thanks to CBS, we're back to Super Saturday where the women will play their final on the next to last day of the tournament but have to share the spotlight with the two men's semis.

  • MaliVai Washington is still struggling to get his game back, nearly a year after knee surgery, and you get the feeling the knee is not right yet. He's having good and bad days and not enough good days to crack the top 200.

  • It's pretty obvious that Jana Novotna's plan at age 29 is to limit her number of tournaments. She's played only five tournaments this year and is 13-4.

  • There will be no more possible Martina Hingis-Venus Williams matchups until Rome (May 4-10).

  • Keep an eye on: Former U.S. junior star Lilia Osterloh, 20, of Columbus, Ohio, who has less than a year on the women's tour but whose game has taken a big jump in recent months.

    Charles Bricker covers tennis for The Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale

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