Despite having fought to win the second-set tiebreak, 7-5, Brown's game and attitude became even worse in the final set. Brown seemed dejected and hurried, and even decided to forgo sitting down on the changeover down 1-4, perhaps inspired by the old-time feel of the grounds. Incidentally, that changeover was to be his last in singles play at this year's tournament, as he dumped the next two games to Bachinger for the win, 7-6(7), 6-7(5), 6-1. The 24-year-old winner will continue his rise in the rankings, having recently reached the Top 100.
"I'm a seagull... No, that's not it."
A curious sight could be witnessed on the practice courts today, as ATP Tour's Director of Media Information extraordinaire Greg Sharko traded in his laptop for a baseball glove and Croatia's Ivo Karlovic left out a tennis ball, for a baseball. As we all know from his biography and musical oeuvre, "Dr. Ivo's" second choice of sport is basketball, and, no, he was not just celebrating America's independence by partaking in its favorite pastime.
In fact, Karlovic, who suggested he'd never as much as touched a baseball before, was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch in the game of the local summer collegiate baseball team, the Newport Gulls. One baseball expert in attendance at the game described Karlovic's pitch as an impressive, "pretty good, actually!" Perhaps Mr. Sharko has a new career ahead of him!
Crooked Cap vs. Cap-deville
Donald Young may have agonized the entire tennis establishment, starting with his sponsors at the USTA, with his past behavior off the court, but he was subdued and businesslike in today's dispatching of Chile's Paul Capdeville, 6-2, 6-1. Although he has fallen out of the Top 100 since May, Young is at his best level since 2008 and is playing well.
"I am no one."
Here is a youngster that is highly unlikely to be Tweeting obscenities about tennis authorities any time soon: Grigor Dimitrov. Coming off a great Wimbledon run and at a career-high No. 60 in the world, the second youngest member of the Top 100 is keeping his head about him.
When PTN asked Dimitrov about his place among the newbies and veterans of the ATP Tour, he said that he has plenty to improve in his game and mentally, and that, "at the moment, I am no one." The Bulgarian also suggested that walking through the International Tennis Hall of Fame exhibits, as he did this week, is "a must" to any player who, like him, wants one day to make history.
Dimitrov also admitted feeling pressure from the attention he has been getting as he rises through the rankings. But that does not stop him from enjoying himself on court. "Honestly, it was fun today," he said of his 6-2, 6-4 win over Argentina's Brian Dabul. In his first visit to Newport, he "was improvising," trying different styles of play on this grass, which he said plays soft. Dimitrov was particularly effective on net approaches today, a tactic we'd like to see him keep as he develops his game. He faces the winner of Karlovic and American youngster Dennis Kudla next.
