Steve R.
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Everything posted by Steve R.
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Certainly worth LeTreck. (took 7 years for me to come up with that)
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I was courtside as Carreno Busta beat Mahut a couple of days ago, but I really didn't think he was as consistent & composed as he showed he was today, beating Shapovalov in 3 straight tiebreaks. Great match to watch on TV. Solid. -
Tomorrow night (Wednesday), he plays Tsonga in the night session. Might be a good one.
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First round of the U.S. Open & Shapovalov had a strong opponent in the young Medvadev. Every time he plays, he gets a stronger opponent & each time he's upped his game & won. Three straight sets today, showing speed, maturity & some of the best flowing backhands this side of Federer. I think that 5 years from now I'll be telling people that I got to see this star when he needed to qualify to get in & didn't need to shave. Wow. This kid's for real!
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Well, the 2nd round of the Quals was not kind to Felix Auger-Aliassime. He had to play Stakhovsky, who is a very strong player & he wasn't able to win. Lots of great shots, incredibly fast on the court, hits a great overpowering serve, strong ground strokes, but inconsistent. Too many mis-hits, unforced errors, wrong choices & too many "style" shots. In one case, a lob by Stakhovsky forced him to run full speed to the back line from the net area. He got there quickly enough, in my opinion, to run around the ball and hit a strong stroke back. Instead, he was content to show off and hit the ball through his legs, facing away from the net. Nice shot, great crowd pleaser & a set up for Stakhovsky who put the ball away. Hopefully, he'll mature and get more consistent. The raw material is clearly there. Shapovalov had a strong opponent in Elias, an unranked player from Portugal. It almost looked like Elias might win, but Shapovalov did what he did in the 1st round - he psyched himself up, put it in a higher gear & ran off 5 games in a row to win the 2nd set. Hopefully, he'll win tomorrow and get into the main draw. Fun to watch.
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I'll probably defer my comments on Felix' game since I've never seen him before this, he's coming off an injury, he was playing a fast moving smooth placement (not power) hitter & it was the 1st round, so he may have been just using the opportunity to work on things. It was obvious that he puts pace on the ball & goes for it a lot. Shapovolov is more a known quantity for me, having watched him throughout the Cincy tournament, including against Zverov. Today he faced a hard hitter (for the quals) but someone who he could outhit, outrun & generally outplay as needed. He just stepped up when needed, put it in another gear & moved on. It looked like Shapovalov's past year or so has matured him, while Felix looked like an upcoming Junior. Sort of like when Venus was playing as a real pro & Serena was just starting to compete with adults. There are quite a few players in this age range around these days and it's hard to tell which will grow into stardom, which will plateau & which will fall by the wayside. These 2 certainly look like they can be up there, even though neither is the strongest hitter, the biggest player or a dominant force. I'm always partial to lefties. They were cute, both wearing the exact same outfit on adjacent courts & taking roughly the same amount of time to win. Best I could get: eta: Don - thanks for re-sizing and combining the photos into this post. I'm a complete idiot at attaching photos.
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Although neither match was earthshatteringly great, both were fun to watch up close & both Felix A-A & D.S. won relatively easily. Since they're not on the same side of the draw (I don't think...I'll double check), I'll probably be there for their next round against others & will watch again. If either/both make it to the main draw, I'll be there Monday so I might get to see their 1st round matches as well.
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Going to the 1st day of the US Open Quals in an hour or so. I just looked at the drawer sheet. At 11am, on adjacent courts, which can both be viewed by standing in between, are matches featuring Felix A-A (court 4) & Denis Shapovalov (court 5). I know where I'll be heading.
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Since I go to the US Open at times when the Juniors' tournament is taking place on the back courts when doubles matches are also going on, I wind up seeing pieces of many Junior matches. I watched him play at last year's Open, didn't know anything about him, but was impressed. Although quite a number of the best Juniors never make it (for many reasons), their potential is always obvious and its always fun to take mental note and see how it goes forward for the next several years. I'll keep an eye out this year. "Félix Auger-Aliassime: on the Mend" by Emma Achour on tenniscanada.com Apparently, he's been out with a wrist injury, but plans to be back for the quals of the US Open. Since I'm going to be there for at least 2 of the 4 days, I'll be sure to keep track & watch his matches if possible.
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It was sort of funny for us to go to a French place in Paris owned by a NYC based chef who we knew mainly from her Italian food (although we had already been to Buvette in NYC as well, we'd been to several of her previous Italian places -- this was before Via Carota opened). It became even funnier when we went in & wound up talking to the French manager, who we recognized as our bartender at the NYC location. And, yes, we liked the place a lot too.
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You probably already know this but Jody has another place (with her partner) that is also very good: Via Carota. We've been to both and have also been to the Buvette in Paris, which is pretty identical to the NYC location. All are excellent. eta: never mind... I see you hit Via Carota as well []. Welcome back to NYC, albeit I assume temporarily.
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I love watching Hingis play. Several years ago, she played for the NY Sportimes & I was a member of the club so I saw every home match, including those where she played doubles with Johnny Mac. I've also prioritized being courtside when she's played Mixed Doubles with Paes and Women's Doubles with Coco V. the past couple of years at the U.S. Open. She's always upbeat, smiling, having fun & plays beautifully. Great feel for the game & I'm happy for her Wimbledon win.
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Hey, don't knock H.S. doubles. Although I played singles in my senior year, I wasn't #1 singles since our coach had recruited a sophomore who could kick my ass (still can, since he's still a teaching pro) & I knew I wasn't even top 10 in NYC singles. I had played doubles previously and had (in my Junior year) come in 2nd in the NYC "Mayor's Cup" H.S. Doubles Tournament (with my partner of course). At any rate, feeling the need for revenge, we teamed up again in my senior year and won the tournament. So, 47 years later I still have bragging rights to having once been the best H.S. doubles player (forget my partner, he was just window dressing) in NYC. Our coach was a tennis fanatic who was the only sports coach not a gym teacher (he taught Social Studies) at the school. He recruited off the basketball courts (where I was out-heighted and out-classed by too many others to get off the bench), he recruited from junior programs, he recruited from asking teaching pros who their promising lesson takers were. At a time when you were supposed to go to the H.S. in your geographic neighborhood, we sure had some "adjacent neighborhood" guys around. Needless to say, he was plugged in to indoor winter training courts (almost no other H.S. had this) & high level tennis promoters. Hence the tickets. And some racquets. And balls. Basically, the HS said "I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing" and had nothing to do with any of it (except accepting the City Championship accolades each year). As for your claim that the tickets were "the" difference between NJ and NYC -- well, there's another opinion that I can state without needing to back it up with "substance" & you may not like that one either.
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- New York
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Just thought that this would be an opportune time for me to re-state my opinion on the answer to this thread's question: Federer. I've now been playing/watching tennis for over 50 years, started with front row seats for matches involving Laver et al (our H.S. tennis team was taken to MSG for pro tennis matches in '67-69 with courtside seats) & cannot remember being awed by anyone as much as by Federer. That's really saying something, as it's much easier to awe a 15 year old than a 65 year old.
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A slightly more than half satisfying Wimbledon conclusion for me. I was not happy about Venus' loss, especially how the 2nd set was played (or wasn't) by Venus. I was very happy to see Federer win & cannot believe how well he looks, sounds and seems to feel. His play is as good (better?) than ever this year. And he may have more in the tank. Got my tickets to several days of the US Open and now look forward to watching more great tennis there. Reminder to all interested: the Quals are the week before the tournament and are free.
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"She (the dumpling stand owner) also opened a restaurant nearby in a small mall on Kissena several years ago and I can't remember the name, but the dumplings there were lighter and better prepared (& somewhat costlier). I think its still there, but I haven't been since the opening". Well, I made myself curious and decided to check in on this place. First of all, it turns out that Dumpling Galaxy is on Main not Kissena, several blocks past Golden Mall, where her original dumpling stand in the basement remains &, second of all, it appears that a lot has been written about her. Seems that Helen You is now quite a celebrity, with a new cookbook and lots of fans (some of whom I know well & respect). At any rate, here's some reading material on a now famous dumpling maker: Nov 11, 2014 - "Dumpling Galaxy in Queens" by Pete Wells on nytimes.com "The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook" by Helen You and Max Falkowitz on amazon.com Jun 14, 2017 - "Watch the Story of Dumpling Galaxy's Helen You" by Joe DiStefano on chopsticksandmarrow.com I'm guessing that I may have to go back.
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Here's a link to a Blog that you'll probably salivate over (http://www.eatingintranslation.com ). "Eating in Translation" is by Dave Cook, a friend I go to meals with periodically. He's great at writing about, and taking pictures of, many of the ethnic places around NYC (& elsewhere when he travels). It also has its own Facebook page, filled with pictures, etc. Good for vicarious living as well as future trip planning (hint).
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I'm just about 65. But a young 65 . That block of Eldridge ain't exactly the pinnacle of dining activity, but it is better than it was in the '80s. Its still dirty, grimy and full of warehouses for various things, but there are maybe 2 or 3 other places to eat there as well. Not at all "wondrous". If not for Vanessa's (which was once just called "Eldridge St Dumpling House" and now is one of three or four places with her name around town), I can't think of a reason to be on that block. Some things change very slowly. --- Dumpling Galaxy (Steve R.)
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A side story you may appreciate: if your family's place was across the street from Vanessa's, up until 7 years or so ago you would have been looking at a Vanessa's that wasn't actually in a building. When they moved into the proper building with the address they now have, they did so from their already famous location next door, which wasn't a building at all, but an alleyway between buildings that she had put a roof over and created a location to sell dumplings and sandwiches out of. Makeshift kitchen that couldn't have possibly been up to code, they existed for years this way. Only by standing across the street, where your family place was, was it obvious that people were going thru a door into an alley. One of the many reasons I have always loved NYC.
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Since you've been to Flushing's (cleaner) Food Courts, have you gone to the downstairs Golden Mall (Main St.) & taken a look at the dumpling place? The dough is way too thick/heavy but she turns out dumplings with some very interesting fillings. Worth sampling. Also, when down there, right next door to the dumplings stand is the original Xi'an stand. Great lamb sandwiches. She (the dumpling stand owner) also opened a restaurant nearby in a small mall on Kissena several years ago and I can't remember the name, but the dumplings there were lighter and better prepared (& somewhat costlier). I think its still there, but I haven't been since the opening. And, as an aside, even though it has nothing to do with dumplings, there's a restaurant called Fu Run literally next door to White Bear that's definitely worth a meal. And a Shanghai place around the corner (across from the playground/back of the LIRR station) that's excellent, including for soup dumplings. Or give some notice when you're coming in again and we can get a group of knowledgable folk together for a lunch. There are several bloggers, ex-Chowhound board folks & others who still do this in NYC.
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As someone who greatly respects Melo's talent but thinks that he's a detriment to the Knicks, I'd love to see him play with LeBron & watch them take on the Warriors. Frankly, it may be a couple of years too late for his offense to be effective even with LeBron & his lack of defense may well be a bigger problem. And, does anyone think that JR Smith, who had a pretty good run in Cleveland, misses Melo? I don't.
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He didn't get the nickname "nasty" for nothin'.
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Basically, I agree. Serena, herself, has said that the men's and women's are different games, played at different speeds. I think that she's openly doubted that she'd get a game against the top 200 male pro players. Johnny Mac, of course, is entitled to his opinion & may even be correct. As everyone has pretty much said, its irrelevant & not worth arguing. However (you knew something was coming, right?) -- if you think that this tempest in a teapot was started by a "muckraking journalist and an opportunistic media", I think you missed the boat. Its no accident that Mac has a new book out and understands publicity (& how to choose a friendly target). Enough said?
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I'd love to know why Dolan quietly picked up Jackson's next 2 years, knowing about these irreconcilable differences? And how does Dolan let Phil run last week's draft while this was brewing? Dolan continues to keep things completely unworkable. Neither Melo nor Jackson were/are the future for the Knicks & Dolan is managing to pay for both without any hope of winning with either. The Knicks great young players will not develop and build their games while working with a player like Melo who needs the ball and doesn't play much defense. And the days of running a triangle offense to the championship are gone, so their progress wouldn't occur with Phil either. A disaster on all fronts.
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We like to remain in the forefront of combining trends. Too bad she wasn't based in Brooklyn.... would've been a NYC trifecta.
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- Gramercy Park
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