Tuesday's Tennis Links -- September 15th, 2009

Now that the US Open is over, The Daily Forehand's weekly Tuesday Tennis Links feature returns.  I know you're pumped. 

And because there seems to be some doubt--yes. Tennis does continue beyond the US Open.

For example, the British Press has already moved past Laura Robson, now pinning all its hopes for a future savior of British Tennis on US Open Girls Singles champion Heather Watson. [Times Online]

She'll have to do quite a bit to match the £145 million that The Times of London estimates Andy Murray has brought to the British economy.  With that contribution, you think they'd take it easier on him about these disappointing losses at majors, right? [Times Online]

Kim Clijsters is lauded by previous grand slam champion mother Evonne Goolagong Cawley... [NYTimes.com]

...and also by the President of Belgium.  But does he present the trophy at the Belgium Open? [NYTimes.com]

Rafael Nadal is out of the Davis Cup semifinals this week, his spot Spain's team filled by Juan Carlos Ferrero.  Good for Ferrero, who in his Q&A with The Daily Forehand had expressed desire to be on the team. No explanation for why Tommy Robredo is inexplicably on the team instead of Fernando Verdasco. [Reuters]

And while the semifinals are going on, the arguably more important Davis Cup matches this weekend are the the playoff matches to fight for a spot in the World Group.  At least that's the mindset in South Africa, one of the countries fighting for a spot in the top tier of Davis Cup.  [AFP]

While the US Open afterthoughts and Davis Cup will rightfully pick up most of the press coverage this week, the regular tours march on. This is the first week of the rapidly growing Asian swing in the tennis calendar, starting off with an WTA event in Guangzhou and snaking through Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Osaka and Tashkent.  They're awfully excited about it over there, justifiably. [China Daily]

But there is one remaining tournament in North America for 2009, the small Challenge Bell in Quebec. With most players home in Europe resting, the field is pretty weak.  The tournament is now merely a nice vestige of what used to be an important part of the calendar, back when the Year-End Finals were held in the US.  It's pretty telling that Julia Goerges is a seed, when she wasn't even seeded for the Bronx Challenger I covered a few weeks ago.   [Tennis Canada]

Not one [New York Daily News], not two [Examiner], not three [Huffington Post], but at least four [Chicago Tribune] different writers all draw comparisons between Serena Williams, VMA-upstager Kanye West, and Obama-interrupter Joe Wilson.  A friendly reminder to all the writers out there to make sure no other writer came up with the same super-clever idea you did.  Or at least not three others.

And finally, Frank Deford pays tribute to the late Jack Kramer, whom he calls the most significant figure in the history of tennis. [NPR]