91Èȱ¬

As the quality of men's tennis hits unprecedented heights and the top four players batter each other most weeks, things are getting serious off the court.

Andy Murray believes some form of boycott, while a long way off, will be discussed at next month's players' meeting in Shanghai.

The complaint is nothing new - too much mandatory tennis.

This has been talked about for as long as I can remember. Because there is no all-powerful governing body, there appears little room for manoeuvre in the current calendar.

Read the rest of this entry

New York

So another US Open is over. And after thrills, spills, rain and pain, I have selected my winners and losers from this year's dramatic tournament at Flushing Meadows.

First, the winners...

Novak Djokovic

What is there left to say? When Manchester United won the Premier League last season, only suffering a handful of defeats along the way, they only played their main rivals twice. As far as Djokovic, the , is concerned, he has played Rafael Nadal six times and Roger Federer five times this year. In 2011, the Serbian is 10-1 against two of the greatest players of all time. That's 64 wins and only two defeats over the season so far. Phenomenal.

Djokovic's His athleticism is immense, reaching balls on the stretch on the slide and somehow getting them to within an inch of the baseline. Sixty-four wins, did you say? Two defeats? How is any of this possible in the modern game? I don't, but 'Nole' knows.

Read the rest of this entry

Every year we turn up to the wondering if this will be the year they announce concrete plans for the future of the Flushing Meadows complex.

The men's final has been delayed to a third Monday for the last three years and now the 2011 tournament is in a mess after heavy rain in New York.

The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament without a roof on the main show court or a public intention to build one.

Official word had been that nothing had changed. It's too costly to build a roof or Arthur Ashe Stadium is too big to put a roof on it, that sort of thing.

But if long-term plans are being drawn up behind the scenes, which we gather they are, then that is an excellent development.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) It shouldn't be afraid to tell the world the matter is in hand.

Read the rest of this entry