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Monday, 16 July 2012 18:04

ATP Newport: Weekend Rundown

Written by  Mariya Konovalova

Weekend "My Dad's in a Final!"

Six-year-old Mia ran around a dining table telling all who could hear, "My dad's in a Final! My dad's in a Final!"

Long before her existence, Lleyton Hewitt took over the No. 1 spot in the ATP Tour rankings from Gustavo Kuerten in 2001 and went on to dominate men's tennis for the next two years until injuries and competitors interrupted him. So, on July 14, 2012, minutes after Kuerten was enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on the same court, Hewitt was not going to lose. He beat American Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, in a routine match, making his first tournament final since 2010 and posting his best result since the latest in a string of surgeries, this one on his foot.

Less than two hours before, Kuerten held on to his 5-month-old daughter, the Brazilian flag, and the Hall of Fame plaque as he made the rounds on the same court with fellow inductees. After the match, Hewitt was joined on the same court by the excited Mia and her younger siblings, their father also having a big day.

Weekend Ripley's Believe It or Not
Overheard on the grounds (father to young boy before John Isner faced Ryan Harrison in a Semifinal): "We are going to see a reee-ally tall man."

Weekend "Never Ever Gonna Quit"
While some parallels can be drawn, Kuerten's Hall of Fame Induction did not remind Hewitt of his age. He hopes "it's a few more years" before he has to take stock of his own career. Hewitt is concentrating on his latest comeback, from foot surgery, and wants to make sure he has "done absolutely everything [he] can."

Weekend No Place Like Home
Isner says he feels most comfortable playing in the United States (where he can catch Sportscenter on TV at night) and said, "This is something I need to work on."

Weekend Reprise
Last year, Isner broke Newport's infamous "Casino curse," becoming the first top-seeded player to win the tournament since Vijay Armitraj had in its inaugural year. This year, Isner solidified his magic abilities by winning again. After the 2011 win helped the American fight his way out of a slump, Isner hopes this year will be more of the same.

Weekend Circle of (Tennis) Life
Stan Smith, member of the Hall of Fame Class of 1987, reflected on the universal nature of professional tennis, making the Class of 2012 accomplishments seem even more significant: "As kids start their career, they play in the 10-and-under division, then the older divisions, then they hope to play in futures events. This is all over the world... Then they hope to get into some professional tournaments, futures and challengers, then bigger tournaments, qualifying, then eventually get into a Grand Slam, eventually win a Grand Slam. The ultimate really is being selected to the Hall of Fame; it's the final step."

Weekend Doubles
One of the Class of 2012 Hall of Fame inductees, Welshman Mike Davies, was until 2012, along with doubles partner Bobby Wilson, the last British man to have made a men's Wimbledon final (they lost the title in 1960). So, following Andy Murray's final appearance and Jonathan Marray's win, it is apt that two Brits, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins contested the 2012 Newport doubles title against Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky. Perhaps it's also apt that they lost.

Weekend I-on the Ball
"As soon as I saw it, I knew Tiriac's behind it," said tennis pioneer Davies when asked to reflect on blue clay. Davies added that it was unfortunate that the color question was mixed into the issue of the unsuccessful process of creating the surface, which proved dangerous for players, and he urged the process to be perfected so that we see the return of blue clay, which made the ball so much more visible. He said he learned early on that blue courts were the best for television.

The man who was responsible for the commercialization (and, thus, the global spread) of tennis suggested the simple rule, "Better for television – better for tennis."

 

For all photos from the 2012 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, CLICK HERE

Additional Info

  • Photographer: Mariya Konovalova
Mariya Konovalova

Mariya Konovalova

Mariya Konovalova is the Editor-in-Chief of TalkAboutTennis.com content. When not watching, photographing, writing, and editing material about tennis, she enjoys buying books she won't have time to read and films she won't have time to watch, as well as not getting enough sleep. Mariya is a graduate of Columbia University and the London School of Economics. You can contact her by e-mail (mariya(at)TalkAboutTennis.com) and follow her on Twitter (@MariyaKTennis).

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