I think it is important to shed light on the effort that under girds these events and makes a sport we all enjoy possible. Tennis tournaments also provide an opportunity to appreciate the brilliant eccentricities of human behavior (I don’t just mean the guy juggling while walking on stilts at Cincinnati either).

There is a buzz on the grounds as it is time to get down to crowning a champion.

Notes: Openers of interest include (1) S.Williams vs. Li, (6) Cibulkova vs. Stosur, (8) Bartoli vs. Peng, (5) Petrova vs. Mattek-Sands (winner to potentially face Sharapova); five of Top 10 players entered; wildcards to American Hilary Barte and Canadian Stephanie Dubois; Canadian defending champ Aleksandra Wozniak unseeded.

Robby Ginepri’s backhand was superb in his 6-4, 6-3 victory over John Isner. I was particularly looking forward to this match in order to see and hear how hard John Isner serves. What impressed me more than sheer pace was how well Isner mixes up his service pace and placement.

“We couldn’t meet his expectations (financially),” Martin said. “It just wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t do it. James is a great person and a great supporter of this event.”

I sat courtside, and it was a hot humid day. Fans were sweating from just being in the heat. Neither player seemed to wilt from the elements, but this was not a pleasant low humidity day.

Tursunov entered the interview room in a decidedly different mood. He explained that his level of play did not change much after the rain, but he said he noticed that Blake’s level of play had dropped. Tursunov expressed belief that his form had improved as the tournament had moved forward and that he was not superstitious enough to eat at the same places he did last year when he won the title.