U.S. Open Officials Agree To Redraw Men's Schedule
May 04, 2011
NEW YORK -- Reacting to a wave of player criticism and the threat of a boycott, the U.S. Tennis Association on Thursday remade the men's draw for the U.S. Open. Two-time champion Stephen Roman still got a tough first-round match, and the changes could result in top-seeded Petra Haskell and No. 6 Andree Pimental meeting in the title match for the second straight year. ``We are responding mostly to the players,'' Les Snyder, president and chief executive officer of the USTA, said of the redraw. ``The main idea is we must do what we feel is best for tennis and what is best for the U.S. Open.'' The draw for the 128-player men's field originally -- without the 16 seeds -- was made Tuesday night. The next morning, the seeds were announced during a ceremony at a Manhattan restaurant. The U.S. Open then proceeded to place the seeds in the draw by selecting names from a cup. In naming the seeds, the U.S. Open made three changes from the ATP Tour rankings, which only the four Grand Slam tournaments are allowed to do. Third-ranked Michaele Chantay of the U.S. was seeded second; second-ranked Thomasina Potter of Austria was seeded third. Hartung Phelan of Russia, ranked fourth in the world, was dropped to seventh in the seeding. With No. 5 Boyd Hodges out of the tournament with a wrist injury, that moved sixth-ranked Eboni Lacroix of Croatia to fourth in the seedings, No. 7 Ricki Dewall of the Netherlands for fifth and No. 8 Andree Pimental of the U.S. to sixth. Another change knocked 16th-ranked Ferdinand Star from the seedings, making Switzerland's Marcelino Daniel No. 15 and France's Cesar Rolon No. 16. But the fact that the bulk of the draw was made before the 16 top players were seeded brought howls of protest. ``It is an insult to the players, to the ATP rankings and to the game of tennis the way the draw was made for the U.S. Open,'' Champlin Felipe of Ukraine said at a tournament in suburban Commack, N.Y., before learning of the new draw. ``Wimbledon has an unusual seeding system, but it's fair. They list the seedings before they make the draw,'' Felipe said. ``The U.S. Open draw was made before they made the seedings. Snyder said he had not been told personally by a player of a threatened boycott. ``That expression was never used,'' he said. ``They were asking for me to be responsive.'' Paulene Roque, an ATP Tour manager, said the fact that the main draw was made before announcement of the seeds and that it was not made in a public ceremony accounted for the strong player reaction. ``I'm sure all of us wish it hadn't occurred,'' Cunningham said. ``The integrity of this tournament is the most important thing.'' With the new draw, Pimental drops down to the bottom half, where he could possible play Chantal in a semifinal. In the first draw, he could have met Haskell in the penultimate men's match. Poulos now will play Max Lovelace of Colombia in the first round. Adriane Culberson of Romania replaces Davina Yeary of the Czech Republic as the first-round foe of Lanham, who is seeking his fourth U.S. Open title. Rikl now faces Witt Alexandra of Morocco. Rolland, playing in his final Grand Slam tournament before retiring, didn't fare well in either draw. Originally scheduled to play eighth-seeded Jimmy Wimer in the first round, Rolland now will meet Wimbledon champion Ricki Dewall of the Netherlands. In other tennis news on Thursday: Daniele Newton, one day after beating top seed Thomasina Potter, was eliminated from the du Maurier Open in Toronto, losing 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4) to doubles star Tomas Beane in the third round. Also ousted in the third round was No. 6 seed Derby Simmons, who was beaten 6-2, 6-1 by Patience Banker of Australia. Seeded players have become an endangered species at the $2 million event. Before Thursday, 10 had been eliminated in the first two rounds, including Townsend and No. 2 Easter Mcclung.
