Both Marx and Zelenay were making their debut in an ATP tour final and the Bryans took advantage of their opponents’ inexperience early on.  After an expeditious opening game by Mike, Bob stuck a forehand volley winner for three break chances.  When Marx dumped a volley into the net after a low return by Mike, the Bryans had the break.  With another quick game, the brothers widened their lead to 3-0.  On Zelenay’s serve, another volley mistake gave the Bryans a look at three opportunities for a double break lead.  However, by forcing a couple of errors from his opponents, Zelenay guarded serve.  Thereafter, each team comfortably held until the ninth game when Mike served for the set.  After arriving at two set points, the Bryans netted a forehand and with Marx producing a forehand down the line winner, they faced a deciding point.  Luckily, a superb serve by Mike resulted in a Zelenay return error leading to the Bryans bedding the first set.

Once Zelenay and Marx settled down after being broken in the initial set, they gave their adversaries quite a battle.  These two pushed the Bryans to 40-30 numerous times. Finally with Bob serving at 3-4, as a result of a double fault and a backhand error, Zelenay and Marx obtained 30-40.  However, with stellar serves, Bob helped to equalize the set at 4 all.  With neither party able to manufacture break points, the set went to a tiebreaker.  With Marx punching a mid-court forehand long, the Bryans had a mini-break lead for 1-0.  Then, with a low return, team Bryan caused Marx to volley up and built a 4-1 advantage.  Later, Marx double faulted to give the Bryans four set points.  On the Bryans’ second match point, Bob put away a backhand volley to seal the championship.

The Bryans were overjoyed to prevail.   They affirmed that they “love coming back to [Delray] and  [that] there’s always room for more trophies”.  With Davis Cup coming up in Serbia this week, Bob and Mike felt that Delray was a great way to prepare.  This victory “gives us momentum”.  They also tipped their hat to Marx and Zelenay because they put up a good fight; “they played really well. . .  we were fortunate today”.

The finals of the ATP Champions Tour were contested Tuesday night at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center between Australian Patrick Rafter and American tennis legend John McEnroe. The meeting between the two former majors winners was expected to be a display of serve and volley, both delivered. Rafter prevailed over McEnroe 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1) in two highly competitive sets.

Although the ATP Champions Tour has been in existence since 1997, the four day event in Delray marked the Champions Tour’s inaugural stop on U.S. soil. McEnroe qualified for the finals by going undefeated in Group A (3-0) highlighted by wins over Mats Wilander and Andres Gomez. Despite losing to Ronald Agenor, in Group B, Rafter advanced by beating Aaron Krickstein and Pat Cash.

Rafter was favored in the final in light of his age. However, McEnroe held his own in the match. The difference was Rafter’s ability to raise his game level in the tiebreakers. McEnroe would later concede during the trophy ceremony that Rafter was “too good.” Also, McEnroe jokingly said that Rafter is “younger, faster, and better-looking than me.” The win places Rafter at the top of the rankings of The Champions Tour. The Champions tour moves next to Zurich on March 9.

Turning to the ATP Tour’s main draw, top seed Tommy Haas was upset on Monday night by Teimuraz Gabashvilli in straight sets. Despite dropping a set to Nicolas Lapentti, Evgeny Korolev, last year’s finalist, advanced. Mardy Fish, the 2009 champion, moved on when Christophe Rochus retired at 3 all in the third set. Second seed Ivo Karlovic ousted Philipp Petzschner while Kie Nishikori, 2008 champion, fell to third seed Benjamin Becker .

From the World tour, 2009 champion Mardy Fish returns seeking to become the first individual since Jason Stoltenberg in 1996-97 to defend.  Fish will face stiff competition from top seed Tommy Haas winner in 2006, second seed and serving giant Ivo Karlovic, two time finalist James Blake and two time champion Xavier Malisse. Wildcard youngster Kei Nishikori who stunned Blake in the 2008 final has again been given a wildcard entry.

On the doubles side, the top attraction are Mike and Bob Bryan who are on the hunt for their second straight title.

Come out to see today’s stars as well as those of yesteryears.  For more info on the tournament and to purchase tickets go to www.yellowtennisball.com or call (561) 330-6000.

One has to look no further than the coverage of the French Open men’s semifinal to understand the reason why the major networks are losing viewership. In their desire to capture revenues, these organizations have failed to keep in mind their audience.

At the odd hours that the French Open is transmitted, only an avid fan would care enough to watch. Therefore, as one such fan, I feel slighted when instead of viewing live action, I am presented with pre-recorded programs. Gone are the days when television had a monopoly on this sort of information. Nowadays, with up-to-the-minute data a click away on the internet, this medium is running the risk of becoming obsolete in the world of sport.

From the outset on May 25^th , I followed the competition on the Tennis Channel. Early on in the tournament, ESPN (ABC’s sister station) picked up where that network left off, making it a seamless transition. Then on June 2, as the Tennis Channel terminated its programming, I expected ESPN to show the next match, Croatian Ivan Ljubicic versus Frenchman Gael Monfils. Instead, there was a replay of the calamity of Maria Sharapova vis-à-vis Dinara Safina, culminated with the annihilation of American Robby Ginepri by Chilean Fernando Gonzalez. Any fan with computer access was probably aware of the results of these completed matches.

With ESPN having a six and a half hour broadcasting window, it is incomprehensible why this station would think that rehashing old stuff was the means of bolstering ratings. Its target audience, just as I, most likely logged on to the Roland Garros site for live scoring and radio commentary. Moreover, why endure the torture of persistent chatter and inane telecaster commentaries during play, forcing me to watch the proceedings on mute. Besides, the internet option spares me from having to listen to John McEnroe and Ted Robinson fill in pauses with erroneous trivia such as Martinique and Guadeloupe, Caribbean islands being situated in Africa, validating most Americans’ denseness at geography. The utmost insult to viewers was when NBC aired a taped version of the first men’s semifinal in lieu of a direct feed of the second, Federer versus Monfils. The latter semifinal turned out to be an intriguing contest with Monfils a couple of points from taking Federer to a decisive fifth set.

A delayed presentation of the NFL or NBA playoffs? No TV executive would dare commit such a faux pas; the public would be indignant. Although the popularity of these sports trumps tennis in America, I don’t think usurping the gazillionth hour of the Today Show this year for a live showing of the French, would cause many people to object. Yet, I suppose that French Open organizers, the WTA and the ATP, who sell the rights to the networks, are partly to blame. With their eagerness to fatten their bottom line, they are willing to prostitute the sport to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, they are neglecting the fact that their behavior runs the risk of alienating the very population they are attempting to reach. Perhaps, rather than doing the job half heartedly, these networks should think about conceding the task to stations that would do it properly. In this era of revolutionary technology, it is wonderful to know that tennis fans do not have to accept the crumbs that ESPN and NBC have to offer.