TENNIS in DEPTH.

Signs are being posted in the players’ lounge, locker rooms and referee’s office at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with the header: “Important. Player Notice. Twitter Warning.”

The signs, written by the Tennis Integrity Unit, point out that Twitter messages could violate the sport’s anti-corruption rules.

“Many of you will have Twitter accounts in order for your fans to follow you and to become more engaged in you and the sport—and this is great,” the notices read. “However popular it is, it is important to warn you of some of the dangers posted by Twittering as it relates to the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program Rules.”

Sports leagues and governing bodies are paying close attention as more and more athletes turn to Twitter to reach fans directly; some NFL teams, for example, urged players not to use it. But tennis appears to be the first sport openly concerned about Twitter’s possible effect on gambling.

The signs at the U.S. Open say tweeting is not allowed on court during matches. They also warn about using Twitter away from the court, saying sending “certain sensitive information concerning your match or other matches and/or players should be avoided. Depending on the information sent out this could be determined as the passing of ‘inside information.”’

The messages define that as “information about the likely participation or likely performance of a player in an event or concerning the weather, court conditions, status, outcome or any other aspect of an event which is known by a Covered Person and is not information in the public domain.”

The warnings say they apply to players, coaches, agents, family members and tournament staff.

“We take our anti-gambling procedures very seriously, and we’re in full agreement with this recommendation from the Tennis Integrity Unit,” U.S. Open spokesman Chris Widmaier said Friday.

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Andy Roddick believes he can cope just fine with the weight of home expectation at the US Open following his epic Wimbledon final defeat.

Roddick was the last homegrown player to win the men’s singles title at Flushing Meadows, his 2003 victory being followed by a five-year dominance by Switzerland’s Roger Federer.

Roddick has reached the last eight in three of the last five US Opens but in an event once dominated by the likes of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, American fans are clamouring for another home success.

Having gone down fighting to Federer at Wimbledon last month, losing 16-14 in the fifth set of a classic Centre Court final, Roddick said he has been energised rather than dispirited by the experience.

“If anything I’m looking at it as a new beginning as opposed to something that’s a finisher,” Roddick said. “I’ve always had a pressure to win, that’s the nature of American tennis.

“I’ve been in that position my entire career following Andre and Pete and probably the greatest generation ever.

“So it’s been on my shoulders and I’m not that concerned about the pressure of it all.

“At the end of the day my first concern is going in and winning a tennis match and I think as long as I can keep it simple like that, it will be okay.”

Seeded fifth and on schedule to face fourth seed Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals before a potential rematch with Federer in the semi-finals, Roddick will play Germany’s Bjorn Phau in the first round.

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I can remember when tennis players wore simple outfits, a pair of shorts and a collared shirt for the men, and a sinple white dress for the women. Some women wore shorts, some wore frilly pants, some men wore Tshirts, but it was all quite plain and ordinary.

This week Andy Murray unveiled his new Fred Perry attire that he will wear at this years US Open. Then Rafa and Serena showed off their new Nike outfits, and of course Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova both have newly designed dresses to wear, in different colours for day and night matches. Andy Roddick will show off his new Lacoste shirts, that never seem to fit him. and Venus will have her own signature Eleven design. Even Caroline Wozniacki is dressing up like a girl in her new Linda McCartney dress.

I happen to like what Jelena Jankovic’s gonna wear!

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* Can Rafael Nadal, who admittedly is not at the level that has beaten Roger Federer in three straight Grand Slam finals, on three different surfaces, work his way back to that title form in the first week of the Open? “I think he could, absolutely. I know he’s complained a bit about things that are not knee related and he hasn’t served that big. But if he got through the first three or four matches, he’d have the advantage of being fresher because of his layoff.”

* In order to win the Open, does Andy Murray have to stop being a player who wins by forcing errors from opponents and become, selectively, a riskier, more aggressive player in the longer rallies? “Yes. I think he’s capable of volleying very skillfully. He’s got great hands and we know he’s in better shape than when he got to the Open final a year ago. The courts this year are going to play a little faster, so I think that might force the issue for him.”

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Defending champion Serena Williams could have to get past sister Venus Williams if she is to reach the US Open final and win a 12th Grand Slam title.

The three-time US Open champion, seeded second behind Dinara Safina for the final grand slam of the year starting on Monday, was on Thursday put in the same half of the draw as her third-seeded sister, putting them on course for a semi-final clash.

The siblings contested the Wimbledon final in July for the second year in a row, Serena winning in straight sets to claim her second Grand Slam title of the year having landed the Australian Open in January.

Those are her only two titles this year but Serena said there was no particular reason she appeared to succeed in the Grand Slams rather than regular WTA Tour events.

“I don’t know, I just really love playing in grand slams, big tournaments,” she said.

“I just love stepping out on any court but I don’t seem to have much luck outside of the Grand Slams.

“It’s obviously a tough tournament coming up, I’m just going to do the best that I can do and most of all relax.”

Serena also defeated Venus on the way to her 2008 title at Flushing Meadows, winning their quarter-final but her title defence begins against fellow American Alexa Glatch, a wild card, with Russia’s Vera Zvonareva her highest seeded opponent at number seven in their quarter of the draw.

Venus Williams has No.8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus as her highest ranked rival in her quarter but her path to the last four could be further complicated by having 2005 champion Kim Clijsters, granted a wild card as she continues her comeback in the game, as a potential fourth round opponent.

Whether she achieves her 12th Grand Slam success this month or not, Serena said she was confident she would win one and therefore equal Billie Jean King’s career total.

“That would be awesome,” she said. “Obviously that’s anyone’s goal that has the grand slam titles that I have but regardless as to whether that happens this next two weeks or in the future I still think I have a great chance of that happening in my career. I hope it does happen.

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Rafael Nadal will be bidding to land his first US Open title after adding the Australian Open title to his Wimbledon victory and four Roland Garros crowns.

“Well, I am No. 3 in the world. And the No. 3 in the world should have a chance to win, no?” Nadal told reporters at the Nike US Open kit launch on Wednesday. “But I don’t know if I arrive in best condition.”

“In New York I’ve never played at my best, that’s true,” he added. “Last year I did semi-finals – maybe last year was an opportunity for me to win this tournament, but I arrived too tired after a long season.

“This year I arrive, sure, fresher than ever, but I don’t know if that’s too fresh.”

However, he admitted feeling “much better” both physically and mentally than he had before Wimbledon.

The Spaniard believes the tendinitis would have had a bearing on his performance as both an impediment and a distraction, as he found himself thinking too much about his knees following his shock French Open fourth-round defeat to Robin Soderling.

“After an injury, sure, you think a little bit,” he said Wednesday. “But I am much better, I feel.”

Nadal reached the the semifinals at the US Open last year, and would love to complete his career slam, as Roger Federer did in his absence by winning his first French Open crown.

“It’s very special,” said Nadal. “I’ve won the other three, so if I win that it’s going to be a complete cycle,” he said. “It will be amazing.”

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Sam Querrey continues to roll through at Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Schick and in doing so has won the Olympus US Open Series. Querrey has been one of the stand-outs on the circuit as he heads into the US Open itself, which starts in New York on Monday.

The 6’6” Californian has reached the semis in New Haven for the first time and he did it with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, result over the top seed, and champion from 2006, Nikolay Davydenko.

The win has also made Querrey the second highest ranked American, after Andy Roddick, on the ATP World Tour, but that’s not a big issue for him.

“I just tried to stay in the long points when I could,” said Querrey. “If you win some long like 15, 20 stroke rallies, baseline points against guys like that, I think it really hurts them. They say, ‘all right, he’s bombing serves, but he’s willing to stay in long baseline rallies with me’. I think that can be intimidating. I thought I won a couple long ones today. Sometimes I think guys like Davydenko, (Rafael) Nadal, when they see that, it’s tough for them.”

Querrey says there are more expectations on him and he doesn’t mind that. It must be because he is doing something right.

“I don’t really feel too much pressure,” he said. “Since yesterday, I clinched the US Open Series, I kind of went out there today with no pressure, just kind of swinging away. I think that’s why I started so well.”

“You know, I’m not feeling pressure. I’m just going out there, working hard, doing the things that I need to do. You know, whatever happens, happens. I don’t really care who’s putting pressure on me. I’m not playing for that person; I’m just playing for myself.”

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The much anticipated draw for the US Open was made this afternoon. Recently crowned world number two and second seed Andy Murray meets Ernest Gulbis first up, before a likely meeting with Del Potro in the quarters followed by a mouth watering semi final rematch against Rafael Nadal.

Murray’s likely route to the final is as follows:

R1 > Gulbis

R2 > Capdeville/Crivoi

R3 > Karlovic

R4 > Wawrinka

QF > Del Potro

SF > Nadal

F > Federer

Murray has met Gulbis three times, most recently at Wimbledon where he cruised past the Latvian in straight sets.

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