2012 London Olympics, the future of American tennis, and discussing elite tennis academies with a tennis coach

We were watching tennis matches from 2012 London Olympics and talking about different issues in the tennis world. Here are some points that could be interesting for you.

Do you have the same favorites for Olympics like you had for Wimbledon? Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova?

Serena William’s dismantling of Vera Zvonareva and Vika Azarenka shows she remains in a class by herself. If she is on her game, it doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the net. I don’t think that Maria Sharapova has a chance in the finals.

On the men’s side, I still have to go with Roger Federer on grass in London. Andy Murray now is really a threat for him, but I have to bet on Federer again.

Why has Ryan Harrison, who is considered as a very prospective player by many American tennis coaches and specialists, not shown consistently good results yet?

I’m still looking for Ryan Harrison to grow emotionally so that his game matches his command of the court. He has the body to hit hard. I think some day he will.

 What do you think of Jack Sock’s chances to reach top 10 and become the next American star?

If I’m looking at another young American, I’d think of Steve Johnson. He’s a winner.

Some tennis parents and players are looking for elite tennis academies.  What do you think about that?

Plenty of academies will give player lots of court time, instruction, and physical training. They all claim to be elite. They can be a good deal for somebody who lives in Minnesota and has unlimited money. Since a four year full scholarship is worth about $240,000 the outlay may make sense. For someone living in California, Florida or Texas, where they can play elite tournaments every week, I don’t understand it. I still think it makes sense to pay more attention to education than to tennis.