4 days and counting to Gallery Open

Time for a new discussion stream. I still have not seen the actual draws but I have read everything you guys have posted. There was no way the seeding in 5.0 would make everyone happy considering how strong the field is so I would not fault the committee too much. There would be just as much bitching if they had seeded Reggie Black and not Amit Garg. Based on skill and reputation, Amit is far more the more deservant player. It may not be fair that Black has to play Reader in the 1st round but would it be any more fair if Reader had to play Amit? Kallus and Leach are just as much victims of the draw in 4.5 having to face Phi Hunyh and Sarosh Ahmed. I don't see Kallus pulling that one off but Chris just might have a chance cause he has nothing to lose and without all of the hoopla anything less than making the finals will be a disappointment for you Sarosh fans. He just might feel that pressure against a strong opponent like Chris in the 1st round. If he were to pull it off, I would not be suprised to see Chris be the victim of fatigue in his second match. 5.0s, Green has got it pretty bad for a self-rationalized 4.0 player like he claims to be. That would be an impressive run. His matchup with Dibua would be quite a match to see. Having had the opportunity to hit with Brian Smith a few years back I would also agree that he could emerge as the dark horse and take the whole thing. 4.0, the big question will be whether or not Ansari can bring an end to his 4 match major zone losing streak.

Anyone feel slighted?

Seeds are out and as in years past, the seeding does not necessarily follow the rankings. I personally do not have a problem with this because I would rather see a known player get the seeding that is appropriate instead of seeing him facing a top seed in the first round or two, especially in the case where the ranking-based seeds care about the points and the unranked known player (usually a local ringer) just wants to win that local event and doesn't care about rankings and probably won't be playing other tournaments out of town. From what I understand, the HTA usually spends a lot of time trying to get the seeding right. Doesn't mean they usually succeed but they do try. Sarosh should probably be seeded higher, but #16 at least keeps him from facing another seeded player until the round of 16, so anyone he take out at that point will still get 150 points for the tournament. I am surprised that Chris Leach did not get a seed within the top 16 based on the same criteria HTA seems to usually use. Regarding the 5.0s, I agree that this will be a pretty exciting draw as there are 5 or 6 people who have a legitimate shot at winning. I also wouldn't be surprised to see at least 1 completely unheard guy in the 4.5 draw do some damage. It has happened quite a bit over the years. Sorry to those offended that I don't talk about Open or 4.0s. I just really don't know any of the key people to keep an eye on at those levels.

Counting Down to the Cok.....make that Gallery Furniture Open.

Still too early for me to make predictions about the Houston Major Zone, but since talk will likely stay focused on this tournament for the foreseeable future I thought I would go ahead and start a new discussion stream since the last one was into the 130's. I also want to officially apologize to all the players who will be coming from out of town and forced to play at the far from impressive facilities at Lee Leclear, Memorial Park, and Homer Ford. It is sad that you can go to Waco and play at the kick-ass Waco Regional Tennis Center or go to San Antonio last month and play at the "hoity-toity" country clubs Fair Oaks, Dominion, and Sunterra. Come to Houston and you get homeless people, cracked and horribly sloped courts, torn nets, and crappy lights. No wonder we only get 1 Major Zone while San Antonio gets 3. With that I will bid you all Sarosh and here's hoping that all your Sarosh's may be Sarosh. Come to think of it, I am suprised that Jimmy Kimmel has not done a "I'm f&cking Sarosh" video yet. That would definitely top the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck videos for #1 on youtube. (You know I couldn't go a whole post without keeping the whole Sarosh thing stirred up and by the way, Lord of Strings, where have you disappeared to?)

By popular demand....Sarosh....Sorry, I mean San Antonio Major Zone....

For my part I will already step in and agree with the fact that Trautman should take the 4.5 singles and Reader should take 5.0 if he will refrain from getting drunk the night before the finals like he seemed to do last year during this tourney. Trautman's opponent in final? Is Schmucker in the other half? Did Casas sign up? Sanchez warrants a few votes. In other words, I haven't really looked at the draw but I saw from the last string that you guys were ready to start a new one. The Schmucker/Kern poll has been a lot closer than I would have thought. I won't say which direction I lean in. Finally, I agree that whoever keeps posting that Sarosh can't make it past the round of 16 at a major zone is either dilusional or just trying to stir things up. I haven't even seen the guy but I can tell by the tone of most the comments on this blog that he must be the real deal. If that is not enough, the fact that he played successful line 1 league tennis on a 4.0 league that went to nationals should validate the fact that he is at minimum a strong 4.5. If he really was a top junior in India and was playing 3.5s two years ago then I agree that the guy is a joke as a person even if he is quite skilled as a player. Be a man and limit your sandbagging to one level down if you please. Anyway back to San Antonio. Any takers that Schmucker doesn't make the trip? He is 1 for 1 in Major Zone no shows so far this year. Though in his defense I don't believe that not showing in Abilene had anything to do with facing Cox or Kern. Schmucker won 2 major zones last year so I find it hard to believe that he would be ducking away from 4.0 players. Anyway, if I get the chance to look at the draws perhaps I will be back with more comments (as if anyone cares) if not, please start blasting away, there are plenty of egos that need to be either stroked or deflated by the community of "anonymous". You guys do realize that the majority of people post on here anonymously and that it is not just one or two people (even in the case of Sarosh bashing) as some of you seem to be alluding to. But again it is all in good fun....until someone cries. Then I guess we will have to shut this thing down so that no tries to call my mom and tell on me.

Abilene Draws Out.

The Abilene draws came out yesterday evening. Instead of given my initial comments, I provided a link to the draw, I think it should go straight to the 4.5 draw since that is the one that will likely generate the most comments. I would envision Trautman being the favorite in addition to being the top seed. Oops, I guess I lied because that was in fact an initial comment. One more and I will be done. I think this is the first time that the 4.5 draw starts on Friday instead of Saturday since the draws are usually pretty small. Not sure why they are forcing everyone to drive up there on a Thursday since there is plenty of time to play 4 matches on Sat. and Sun. But then again, this is Abilene we are talking about. Nuff Said.

Goodbye 2007! And now for my 2008 New Year's Resolutions....

I will not lose to Sarosh....more than twice.

I will not sandbag in league....I would have to play at the 3.5 level for that to happen.

If I should see any Texas Section USTA Execute Officers, I will personally thank them for finally bumping Tim Green and Odion Dibua to 5.0.

I will figure out a way to determine whether it is only myself and 5 other guys who even bother to visit this blog.

I will not trash any of my fellow players on this site....unless opportunity presents itself and I think it might generate entertaining discussion.

Happy New Year and here's to a good tennis season for all!

Another month closer to 2008.

Wow, another month has blown by. Not much to talk about since the Master's Cup the first week of November. Still want to hear the full details on the Trautman/Reader match because I really don't believe Trautman could have legitimately won 2 & 0. Great to see Odion Dibua bumped up to 5.0. He will do just as well at either 5.0 or Open in the local events, and no one will be upset about actually having a chance now to win a 4.5 tourney in Houston. I don't really have much comment on other ratings changes, except maybe Tim Green getting an ironic bump up to 5.0 the year that he plays less tennis than any other year this decade. Soon we can start making predictions on who will dominate what level in 2008. For now, I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday season. Eat a lot, exercise little, and please don't practice. Maybe that way, I will have a shot against all you guys in 2008.