Taylor's Take
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September 1st, 3:09pm:
It's been a few days since my last blog and for good reason. I never suspected commentating and running around to do interviews would be so time consuming
All of the energy this U.S.Open seems to follow Agassi as he etches his name into tennis history. I'm sure that everyone has heard by now that this is his final tournament of his career and I've had the privilege of commentating his first two rounds of play. In Agassi's first match against Pavel, I saw a personality that I'm not accustomed to seeing in Andre. He was playing with the crowd, showing emotion out on the court, and seemed to be less business like than normal. Sometimes we think that the tennis players are immune to certain occasions, but clearly Andre realizes this is his last chance with the New York crowd. When in the second round against Baghdatis, many thought that the thirty-six-year-old might not have enough legs to keep up with the young Cypriat. My experience that night was unforgettable. As Andre lost all of his momentum going into the fifth set, the twenty three thousand supporters shook the stadium and rallied the legend to a win. I hope that I have the chance to experience that sooner or later in my career.
Another legend on hand this year was Billie Jean King. Deservedly so for all of her contributions, King bore witness to the USTA renaming the national tennis center in her honor. I was given the opportunity to interview her and she was very humble, gracious and very excited to capitalize on the responsiblity given to her.
I wish I could give you more inside information, because normally I'm hanging out and eating dinners with all of the players you like to read about, but honestly, the media side of the game is no joke! Everyday I've been here from about nine in the morning til about two in the morning, and the time in between I'm being bossed around by the veterans of the business :). Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to spend more time with my friends and give you the dirt on everyone. Until then, I gotta keep the Starbuck's flowing.
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August 25th, 10:15amRight now I'm at my home in Bradenton, Florida, getting fired up for hopefully a great two weeks of American tennis at the U.S. Open.
I've been getting a lot of questions about my status and why I'm not playing and I would love to answer those straight off the bat. My back has been bothering me off and on for roughly six years and the treatments I was getting to take the pain away have lost their effect. When I aggravated my back again this year in February, it has been a long process to get it pain free. The doctors told me that the best thing for my back would be a long rehab program and I've been doing that with Dave Hogarth at the IMG Bolletieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida. We both feel that my back has been making steady progress and I am hoping to be back in action early next year, ready for the Australian Open. For someone who has spent his life being pretty active, its been hard for me to sit around the house all day playing computer games. Thankfully, Tommy Haas, Xavier Malisse, and some other friends in town have been coming over to the house for ping pong and some light basketball games to keep me sane. (As a side note, in the beginning of my ping pong playing days, I was being owned by everyone, so I purchased a ping pong ball machine and now Haas doesn't stand a chance anymore. Malisse has all these funky spins so he still has the upperhand on me.) Ping pong and basketball only take up so much of the day, and I've been itching to get back out on the court, so the most I can do at the moment is teach some private lessons. Nick Bolletieri has also suggested doing some fantasy camps at the Academy.
Traveling has never been one of my favorite things to do, and that includes packing! Unfortunately that is next on my list of chores. It's going to be very strange going to New York without my tennis racquets, strings, and my normal six pairs of tennis shoes. On the upside, my bags are probably going to be a little bit lighter this year. Next stop... Tampa International.
- Fill out the form below to ask Taylor anything about his rehab to his thoughts about this year's US Open.