Oh, Canada! These kids are all right

They’re just three Canadian teens with the now-familiar names: Bianca Andreescu, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov. After an incredible run of success in March, in which each made plenty of headlines both back home throughout the provinces of Canada as well as across the globe. I’m happy to report: These kids are all right.

It’s a great time to be a Canadian tennis fan, isn’t it?

For starters, Andreescu, 18, who began the year ranked 152nd in the world and entered March at No. 71 after reaching the final in Auckland and semifinals in Acapulco, shot up to No. 23 by winning her first WTA Premier Mandatory title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime, also 18, won eight straight matches in Miami – including two just to qualify for the main draw – and improved his win-loss record to 19-9 in all competitions. He reached the semifinals in Miami after beating Nikolaz Basilashvili and Borna Coric, in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively. Auger-Aliassime has enjoyed a stellar few weeks on the U.S. hard courts that began with a run to the third round at Indian Wells after beating fellow Next Gen ATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.

Finally, Shapovalov, 19, who had his coming out on the pro tour two summers ago when he beat then-World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the Rogers Cup, broke into the Top 20 by reaching the round of 16 at Indian Wells. Then, he followed it with a memorable performance in Miami, where he strung together four impressive wins before falling to his idol, Roger Federer, 6-2, 6-4, in the semifinal round.

Together, Andreescu, Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov played a total of 30 matches during March in Indian Wells and Miami Their combined win-loss record of 25-5 was nothing short of fabulous. Characteristic of their wins, each was able to control the outcome of their matches by over-powering their opposition. When they lost, they went down with a fight.

Each of these prodigies wowed the tennis world – and the tennis media that cover them – by striking the right balance with their youthful exuberance and enthusiasm coupled with their obvious talent between the lines. Suddenly, thoughts of Grand Slam success started to murmur through stadium crowds and in broadcast booths – and on social media – during both Indian Wells and Miami.

“There has been all kinds of talk about the talent of this trio of young Canadians but one basic fact remains,” wrote Tom Tebbutt in an article for TennisCanada.com.

“They hit harder and bigger than their opponents.”

The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells provided such a memorable stage for Andreescu, born in Mississauga, Ontario, to experience overnight stardom. She won by showing a gritty variety in her game, thanks to her arsenal of backhand slices and well-disguised drop shots. Plus, she displayed a strength of hitting from the baseline that goes beyond her years.

Along the way to winning the first leg of the “Sunshine Double,” Andreescu beat four Top-20 players – Wang Qiang, Garbiñe Muguruza, Elina Svitolina, and in a dramatic final, Angelique Kerber, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. With hopes of another deep run in Miami, she began with wins over Irina-Camelia Begu and Sofia Kenin, then garnered a big victory in her re-match against Kerber, prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Finally, into the round of 16, Andreescu’s painful right shoulder could withstand no more and the pain forced her to retire early on against Anett Kontaveit. Her spirit might have been broken, but she didn’t break out collective hearts.

Auger-Aliassime, who began the year ranked 109th, generated the same kind of excitement as Andreescu. As if expected, he became the youngest to reach the Miami Open semifinals in the tournaments 35-year history. Then, in the biggest match of his young career, age finally caught up with the promising Auger-Aliassime as the upstart qualifier was unable to close out either set of his 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) semifinal loss against John Isner, one of the game’s best servers. “For sure, nerves,” said Auger-Aliassime, a native of Montréal, who has improved his ranking to No. 33. “It was like I caught a virus of something.” After he lost, disappointed but not dejected, Auger-Aliassime gathered himself alone on the practice courts to work on his serve that had failed him against Isner.

As for Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ontario, he celebrated a recent victory by breaking out an original rap verse in the middle of an on-court interview that immediately went viral on social media. The lanky lefty with the one-fisted backhand and backward ball cap also displayed some pretty fine tennis in stringing together six wins during an eight-match run. Shapovalov showed his superiority in beating a pair of his Next Gen ATP contemporaries, Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe, in back-to-back matches. Finally, his luck ran out against a vintage Federer, as the Swiss maestro won 91 percent of his first-serve points and his serve was only in danger two times. Although neither he nor Auger-Aliassime were able to make the next leap in a Masters 1000 tournament and reach the final plateau, each now knows what it takes to get there. There will be better days ahead for these kids.

The reception each has received following the “Swing through Spring” in Indian Wells and Miami has been welcoming. There have been lots of smiles and happy faces. Both in Toronto and in Montréal, it’s been game recognizes game. Andreescu was feted at a recent FC Toronto football match after returning home, in which she presented the game ball, and last week, she threw out the ceremonial first pitch as a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game, adorned in a bright blue Blue Jays jersey. Plus, she held a big Q & A with her fans on Twitter, where she has more than 340,000 followers. She said, “What really motivates me is the love of the game. I enjoy playing. Having the opportunity the inspire others and travel around the world is also a big part of why I enjoy it so much.”

Last Tuesday, Auger-Aliassime received a tremendous ovation while attending a Montréal Canadians ice hockey match in his home town. For now, each is relaxing away from competition – as a recent Instagram photo showing Auger-Aliassime enjoy a quiet home at home playing Yiruma’s “River Flows In You” on the piano shows.

Looking back, Shapovalov recently tweeted how it was “so great” to see biodegradable string bags being used at the Miami Open. “I used 42 bags just this week alone. Think about how much plastic we are wasting yearly. We need to see more of this on tour and try to be more #EcoFriendly.”

Not long from now, new challenges will await each, beginning on European clay next week, and later on, there’s the grass-court season culminating at Wimbledon. A lot can happen between now and the time each returns home this summer for the North American hard-court season and receives a hero’s welcome at the Rogers Cup (men in Montréal and women in Toronto). One thing’s certain about Andreescu, Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov: They are young talent ready to shine on big stages. Each in their own way has made watching tennis fun again.

Photos: Courtesy of Google Images.

(A version of this essay first appeared in Tennis TourTalk, www.Tennis-TourTalk.com.)

2018 Fed Cup final will match Team USA, Czech Republic

Team USA  / Celebrating its victory over France.
(L-R) Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens,
CoCo Vandeweghe, Bethanie Mattek-Sands,
captain Kathy Rinaldi.

It seems only fitting that the two most successful – and dominant – teams in the history of the Fed Cup competition, the United States and the Czech Republic, will decide this year's championship later this year.

The Czech Republic, which has won five the past seven Fed Cup titles, will host defending champion United States on November 10-11, likely in Prague. The Americans have captured 18 championships – most in Fed Cup history – and are looking to add to their impressive trophy collection. (The Fed Cup is the women's equivalent to the men's Davis Cup.)

Over the weekend, the United States advanced to its second consecutive Fed Cup final with a 3-2 victory over France in Aix-en-Provence by winning three of four singles rubbers on the red clay inside Arena du Pays d'Aix. World No. 9 Sloane Stephens, who went 2-0 against the French, was solid in her 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 20 Kiki Mladenovic on Sunday. It put the Americans ahead 2-1, needing just one rubber to advance. Then, No. 13 Madison Keys substituted for No. 16 CoCo Vandeweghe and clinched the tie for Team USA with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over No. 122 Pauline Parmentier.

"I think all the credit goes to the players," said U.S. team captain Kathy Rinaldi, who took over Team USA in 2017 and is undefeated in five Fed Cup ties. "They played some great tennis. We had some great matches and I think that really stands out."

After her tie-clinching win, Keys said that she was "really happy to get the win. Obviously, Sloane playing some great matches and getting that final win is really, really special."

Team USA has reached back-to-back Fed Cup finals for the first time since finishing runner-up in 2009-10 and last won consecutive Fed Cup titles in 1999-2000.

Meanwhile, the 10-time Fed Cup champion Czech Republic moved into the final round for the sixth time in the last eight years with an impressive 4-1 road victory over Germany in Stuttgart. "It was a very tough tie," Czech Republic team captain Petr Pala said after his team's triumph. "It was an outstanding performance from each of the (singles) winners. ... The tennis was unbelievable."

Pala's team is anchored soundly by World No. 10 Petra Kvitova and No. 6 Karolina Pliskova at singles. Against Germany, Kvitova beat both No. 11 Julia Goerges and No. 12 Angelique Kerber without dropping a set for her 29th and 30th Fed Cup rubber wins. Pliskova is 13-4 in her Fed Cup singles career. The Czech Republic doubles team with be very formidable with Barbora Strycova and Katerina Siniakova paired together. Both are ranked in the Top 20 in the world.

"They've shown the last five years they are the best," German team captain Jens Gerlach said of the Czech Republic team after Sunday's tie.

During his weekly The Tennis Podcast, co-host David Law of BBC5 Live gave props to Kvitova. "Petra Kvitova was in just the most devastating form," he said. "She absolutely thrashed Julia Goerges and Angelique Kerber in Stuttgart. I think it will be a very interesting final at the end of the year."

Like the Czech Republic, Team USA has an abundance of talent to draw upon. "I've always said that's the toughest part about being a captain is looking at the depth and looking at all of the players," said Rinaldi. "Hopefully, everybody is available and we're looking forward to it." Whether the Williams sisters – No. 8 Venus and former No. 1 Serena – will be a part of Team USA for the Fed Cup final remains to be decided. While either would be a welcome addition to an already elite lineup, the current quartet of players that beat France in the semifinals – Stephens, Keys, Vandeweghe and former No. 1 doubles player Bethanie Mattek-Sands – are all great competitors who want to win.

While there's a lot of time between now and the November final to finalize her team, Rinaldi looks forward to the challenge of facing the Czech Republic. The U.S. owns a 10-2 career win-loss record against the Czech Republic in all Fed Cup meetings. "We know going into the final is going to be tough," she said. "Czech Republic has tremendous depth as well. They have had a lot of success, so it should be very interesting."

Cover photo: U.S. Fed Cup team by Ashley Marshall/USTA.
A version of this blog post first appeared in Tennis TourTalk (www.tennis-tourtalk.com).

Just 16, but Amanda Anisimova is on top of the world

Amanda Anisimova / On top of the tennis world.

Sixteen-year-old American tennis player Amanda Anisimova had not won a tour-level match until she arrived to play in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells last week. Now, she's on top of the tennis world. Given a wild card entry into this annual, late winter WTA Premier event in the scenic California desert, Anisimova in just a few days has been nothing short of phenomenal – and she's fearless, too.

Whether she's hitting ripping forehands or two-fisted backhands – both with equal determination and success – the 149th-ranked Anisimova has been impressive. She's not dropped a set in winning her first three matches while tearing through the 96-player singles draw round by round.

During Sunday's Stadium One opener, Anisimova defeated two-time Wimbledon champion and No. 9 seed Petra Kvitova, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the fourth round. The loss ended Kvitova's 14-match winning streak.

As Anisimova, the reigning U.S. Open junior champion, zeroed in on her latest victory – two days earlier, she advanced with an impressive win over No. 23 sed Anastasia Pavyuchenkova – it prompted Tennis Channel commentator Brett Haber to quip, "She's too young to be nervous."

Indeed, playing composed and focused well beyond her years, Anisimova placed 63 percent of her first serves in play and won 70 percent (23 of 33) of her first-serve points while losing just 19 points on her serve against Kvitova. She broke her opponent five times, outpointed Kvitova 59-46, and won on her first match-point opportunity. She played smart and made good shot selections.

"I'm shaking right now. This is the biggest stage I've every played on against the strongest person I've ever played in a tournament," said Anisimova after beating Kvitova in just 69 minutes. "It's just crazy."

Just who is Anisimova? Well, she's the daughter of Russian parents who immigrated to the United States. The 5-foot-11 Anisimova was born in 2001 in Freehold, New Jersey, before moving to Aventura, Florida, where she learned to play tennis at the very young age of two. While she speaks Russian, she's very much American and has been home schooled so she can focus on playing tennis. Last year, at age 15, she earned a wild card entry into the main draw of the French Open.

"This girl is going to be good. She has the look and poise – the attitude – to be a great player," said Tennis Channel analyst and Hall of Fame great Martina Navratilova, in describing Anisimova immediately after she beat Kvitova.

Looking back on her biggest win as a professional, in defeating Kvitiova, Anisimova said: "She's the best player I have ever played, and it was the biggest court I have ever played on. So it was definitely nerve-racking kind of, but I was enjoying it so much out there. And I was playing my best. It was a good day."

Front and center, Anisimova is part of a talented group of young American women – which includes Caroline Dolehide and Danielle Collins, each who also received a wild card entry into the Indian Wells main draw – who are starting to gain notice by the tennis media and appreciated by tennis fans.

Next, Anisimova will face her third straight seeded player – and second consecutive top 10 player – when she plays No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova, a former World No. 1, in the round of 16 on Tuesday afternoon. While she may not be favored to win, I wouldn't bet against her.

• A postscript: Pliskova defeated Anisimova, 6-1, 7-6 (2). Although she looked a bit nervous and played tentative at times in losing to the more experienced Pliskova, Anisimova enjoyed a great week of tennis at Indian Wells – and she's definitely hit the big time. Plus, she moves up 19 spots to No. 130 on the live WTA world rankings.

A version of this story originally appeared in Tennis-TourTalk.com.
Photo: Courtesy of WTA.com. Video: Courtesy of WTA/YouTube.com.

Is Amazon's company culture innovative or punishing?

Amazon / More than just a dot.com that sells books and music.

The play story on the cover of Sunday's print edition of The New York Times, "Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace" by Jodi Kantor with help from David Streitfeld, has grabbed the nation's attention and lit up social media, but not necessarily for all the right reasons. According to Kantor, Amazon is conducting an experiment in how far it can push its force of white-collar workers in order to get them to achieve its ever-expanding ambitions.

Amazon is the U.S.'s biggest retailer with a market capitalization of $250 billion -- bigger than Wal-Mart and Target -- and most of us know this dot-com powerhouse from being consumers. Indeed, they've come a long way since being just an online retailer for books and music. Now, it's possible to buy over 20 million items -- from Amazon's Kindle to digital cameras to even toilet paper -- and if you're willing to pay the price for Amazon Prime, you can have it delivered the next day.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos

Part of the success that Seattle-based Amazon has enjoyed starts with its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who is the fifth-richest man in the world -- yes, the world. According to Kantor, part of Bezos's success can be attributed to his inventing a way to get the most out of every employee. Yet, while some may look at his management style as draconian, others consider some of the data-driven tactics and practices coupled with the passive-aggressive work environment he's promoted at Amazon as innovative and fascinating.

One thing's for sure, Amazon has a reputation for having hard-working employees. "They do pride themselves on being a tough culture," said Kantor on Monday in an interview with American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, which aired nationwide via NPR. "You know Bezos tells people 'This is a culture of working incredibly hard.' They use the phrase 'unreasonably high' to describe their standards and expectations."

According to Kantor, who interviewed current and former employees over the past six months which included several executives, employees value a lot of aspects about Amazon, including the fact that "it's a culture of innovation, there isn't a lot of red tape, relatively junior people can have a lot of responsibility." However, in reading her damning Sunday story in The New York Times about Amazon's company culture, it came across to me -- and I'm sure was noticeable to everyone -- that Amazon's employees are being hurt by the harsh company culture. "I found that in most of our interviews, we were talking to people who really loved aspects of working for the company, but they were struggling with this kind of punishing culture," she said during her "Marketplace" interview.

Among the practices which Kantor cited that upset Amazon employees included how team members had to compete with one another. "Team members are ranked against each other," said Kantor. "It's a very competitive atmosphere." Yet, because of this, it has morphed into an uncomfortable working environment. Imagine, because of this particular directness, it's possible to send secret negative feedback about your peers to your peers' bosses. While the bosses see who it's from, other workers are not privy to this information.

On Monday, Mr. Bezos responded to The New York Times article about Amazon's uncompromising attitude and hard-hitting management style, saying "I don't think any company adopting the approach portrayed could survive, much less thrive, in today's highly competitive tech hiring market."

In a letter to Amazon's 180,000 employees, Mr. Bezos added: "I strongly believe that anyone working in a company that really is like the one described in the NYT would be crazy to stay. I know I would leave such a company.

"But hopefully, you don't recognize the company described. Hopefully, you're having fun working with a bunch of brilliant teammates, helping invent the future, and laughing along the way."

It became very apparent from reading Kantor's article that work-life balance -- the "Amazon way" that promotes climbing the wall after you've hit the wall -- skews towards employees who rank their work life more important than their personal life. Amazon, by all accounts, has perfected a balance between pushing its employees to the brink -- driven to tears amid a climate of fear -- while making sure they haven't hit their breaking point.

I can imagine Amazon employees asking themselves the following questions: "Is this right for me? Do I really want to work this way?"

Where do you draw the line?

If anything, after reading The New York Times article, I hope it brings the debate about workplace culture into the open and starts a public discussion about Amazon.

Listen to Jodi Kantor's "Marketplace" interview:
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/amazons-company-culture-innovative-or-punishing

Read the New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=0

Photos and images: Courtesy of Google Images.

A Kerr-ific start for a first-time head coach

Steve Kerr / "I'm the luckiest coach in NBA history..."

Two months into the new pro basketball season, the Golden State Warriors have been the darlings of the National Basketball Association. Nightly, the "Splash Brothers" duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are providing a highly-entertaining -- and potent -- 1-2 scoring punch in the back court. The "Dubs" achieved a franchise best 16-game winning streak, going five weeks without losing a game.

One of the reasons for the Warriors' new-found success is simple: they have one of the brightest minds in the game in their new head coach, Steve Kerr. He's off to the hottest start of any first-year NBA head coach with a 23-3 record, the best record in the league. He's coached the Warriors to an impressive 10-1 record at home, including a 128-108 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, and they're 13-2 on the road.

"I'm the luckiest coach in NBA history because I inherited a team that was already this good," Kerr recently told the San Jose Mercury-News.

Before the start of the season, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Kerr far away from Oracle Arena, where the Warriors regularly sell out their home games. Our paths crossed following a couple of University of California, Berkeley women's volleyball matches, where his daughter Maddy excels as the team's libero. It was back in September during the first week of basketball practice, long before anyone could imagine Kerr's good fortune as a first-time coach.

My first impressions of Kerr were positive. Although our first chat was brief and mostly introductory, he was very gracious with his time and took a genuine interest in getting to know me and my wife. His role on this night was that of a college volleyball parent -- not an NBA head coach. He came dressed the part of a parent, too -- wearing chino slacks, a long-sleeved t-shirt and casual sneakers.

The second time we chatted occurred a few weeks after our first meeting. I wanted to ask Kerr, an avid reader and learner, about his reading interests and he eagerly shared with me that during the summer he read a 600-page biography about one of his basketball idols, legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden. I sensed from our brief conversation that Kerr, 49, wished he could have been old enough to play for Wooden. As someone who is a few years older, I remember the UCLA glory years as a kid growing up in southern California. I believe Kerr would have fit in well, both as a good team player and as an eager student of the game.

Even though Kerr wasn't old enough to play for Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood, he was well schooled, learning valuable tools of basketball wisdom from Lute Olson during his collegiate days at Arizona. Then, as a pro, he was mentored by the two of the best: Phil Jackson in Chicago and Greg Popovich in San Antonio. Kerr is a five-time NBA champion, having won three titles with the the Bulls, alongside Michael Jordan, and two with the Spurs, where his teammates included Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. As a broadcaster following his 15-year playing career, Kerr teamed with one of basketball's best in Marv Albert, and he applied his skills learned as player towards becoming a knowledgable and good-humored analyst.

After reading Eleven Rings, in which Jackson chronicled the 11 NBA titles he won coaching the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, I was intrigued to find out what books Kerr was given to read by his coach during his playing days with the Chicago Bulls. Jackson was legendary for assigning books to his players to keep them engaged during road trips. Kerr said the most memorable one he received from the Zen Master was the novel All The Pretty Horses by American author Cormac McCarthy.

"I want to keep stimulating my mind and keep fresh things coming in," Kerr told the San Francisco Chronicle. It's one reason why his staff regularly brings him articles of a non-basketball nature for him to read, and Kerr enjoys doing things away from the basketball court like watching his daughter's volleyball matches.

Here's what I've learned from observing Kerr: He's a very affable, down-to-earth guy who blends in easily with other Cal volleyball parents and, while sitting high up in Haas Pavilion out of the spotlight -- he graciously takes time to greet fans who approach him and willingly poses for photos -- always smiling. He's humble while also being likable, and both on and off the court, he's a credible communicator.

After I introduced myself as a long-time fan of Cal volleyball and complemented him on behalf of Maddy's gutsy on-court performance in a Cal victory, I also offered him congratulations on becoming the Warriors head coach. Little did either of us realize in September the tremendous success Kerr would enjoy during the start of his inaugural season. It's a work in progress that's still being written, but has all the makings of a becoming a best-seller.

Photo: Courtesy of espn.com and Google images.