US Open Series Tries to Regain Momentum

The Series wraps up the week after the Olympics/Washington with the ATP stop in Long Island and the WTA event in New Haven, then on to the US Open.

While the television push has more eyes on tennis, the addition of another rankings/standings system has more fans scratching their heads.

For example should fans of Germany's Nicolas Kiefer get more pumped about the fact he's ranked No. 18 on the ATP Rankings, or No. 4 on the US Open Series Standings, or No. 14 on the ATP Race Standings? Lindsay Davenport meanwhile is No. 1 in the US Open Series Standings, No. 1 on the Porsche Race to the Championships Standings, but only No. 4 on the WTA Rankings. Or how about Maria Sharapova No. 6 in the Porsche, No. 8 in the WTA Rankings, and No. 16 in the US Open Series?

Also adding to the confusion is the USTA's refusal to stop airing the television spot which says something to the effect of "You've never seen anything like this -- playoffs!" Yet to our knowledge there aren't any "playoffs" connected to the Series, which simply adds up points from the U.S. summer tournament swing.

Perhaps there is a playoff surprise waiting in the wings. If not, get that confusing crap off the air.

The US Open Series is a coup for the USTA and their daddy organization, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which is involved in a constant power struggle to wrestle control of the game away from the ATP. Years ago it was rumored that the ITF would start their on tour, adding a handful of events to their already-dominant four Grand Slams and competing with the ATP. But in the ensuing years tensions eased between the two tennis bodies, even to the point of combining to host the year-end Masters Cup.

But the power could be tipping once again with the introduction this year of the US Open Series, which has European tournament directors up in arms, and the ATP and WTA silently fuming. The USTA put the deal together largely without the help of the men's or women's tours, instead going directly to the tournaments to arrange television rights and agreements. Check the ATP and WTA websites, and you'll see no advertisements or publicity for the Series, despite both organization's CEOs making pronouncements of "unprecedented cooperation" when it was unveiled (or rather thrust upon them).

Arlen Kantarian, chief executive of professional tennis for the USTA, put the Series together and has also been fronting the p.r. effort, such as explaining things to Roger Federer last week in Cincinnati.

"We were talking to him, educating him about the implications of being in second place in the Series standings," said Kantarian to the New York Times. "I said, 'Roger, you're only 10 points behind Andy (Roddick), and if you win, you get percent more prize money.' And he said, 'I may be 10 points behind Andy, but I'm 3 ahead of (Nicolas) Kiefer.'"

If there are any questions about the Series encouraging players to appear at more events, just look to Kiefer, who took a wildcard into Long Island to improve his points standing after losing at Cincinnati.

"We feel it's gaining traction in the locker room," Kantarian said.

And despite some of the fan confusion, it's also gaining traction in U.S. living rooms.

Richard Vach is a senior writer for Tennis-X.com.