Just a comment on crowd, fan and supporters from country to country.

Is it just me, Or do the fans from country to country tend to support differently.
I think this week has proven that American fans definitely prefer the legends and proven players more the young upcomers and battlers.
I think in Australia, it can be the opposite a lot of the time. We often jump on the unknown underdog and try to support them to an upset win as much as we can.
I watched the Womens Doubles final at the Aust Open, and there is no doubt that Kournikova and Hingis are fan favourites everywhere, but the crowd was full of support for Daniela and Arantxa, and were definitely riding them to an upset victory.
This was also the case with Daniela against Venus, they(I) wanted to see Daniela win, and were disappointed at her not doing so.
Don't get me wrong, Aussies definitely have there favourite, Capriati since her come back, Seles for her legends status, and Anna K, because of all the young boys who want a piece of her, but down in Australia, the crowds seem to try to make a young player more comfortable and less nervous out there, and I think thats great. I think thats why Daniela played so well, she didn't have the pressure on her, but still had the support, hope she comes back for many years to come.
I also think this is often the case in Europe.
You expect a country to support there own, but America doesn't seem to want to see the new guard come in and succeed, they would prefer Sampras, Agassi, Seles and Capriati to continue there dominance.
They seem to jump on there own young player, i.e. Roddick, Jimmy Blake, etc but dont tend to take notice of the other young stars coming up around the world. It's unfortunate, because young player would love to see big crowds, not empty stadiums like this week, and like is often the case at the US Open.

Just my opinion.
Agree or Disagree, I'd love to know your views.....

Thanks
Simon

PS...Go Daniela my Angel:angel:

Hey there

In Newzealand its very Similar

Most oldies that used to watch tennis like to waffle on about the past tennis players. Uusally the court-smith times.

People around 50-40 like to talk about grafs

people usually younger like the young guns coming out. However the ones on the tour now, capriati, hingis, etc etc arent evry popular. im not meaning there hated its just people that watch tennis in newzealand would rather see a great match between graf and naritolva or someone. people here are not keen on tiodays players, and the players that are coming out now the youngies seem to have an impact. i mean in auckland when kourny was playing there was huge media etc etc but other players went that hardly noticed.

I can't speak for all of the U.S., but being an American I can definetly say that I do support the upcoming players. When I went to Indian Wells last weekend I wasn't only excited and looking forward to seeing my favorites Hingis, Dokic and Sampras but also the upcoming playes, who are also favorites of mine like Hantuchova, Tulyaganova and Myskina. Most of the time I wasn't even on the Stadium 1 court, cuz I was on the side courts to watch and cheer those players on. One of the elder volunteers there, who was in control of letting people go into the stadium told me "Boy, you probably get around more than anyone I've seen here yet." She's probably right, too. I think I was constantly going from court to court to see my favorites. Was a blast! ;)

I went to the Tennis Master Series Cincinnati and probably only 20% knew who Kuerten was (number one at the time). They only knew Sampras, Becker, Agassi and Rafter maybe. They did not clap very much even for amazing rallies or shots which led me to conclude that they are part-time fans not fanatics like us. This is the case in America since tennis gets VERY LITTLE press coverage. Hingis was #1 for four years and yet most Americans don't know who she is. Tennis fans yes but not average people. Williams are often known as "those sisters" but are better known because of the hype of them being sister but still their name is not as imprinted as the legends of Chris Evert and John McEnroe. Even Capriati, who is supposedly the American darling, was really forgotten by a lot of people and the name Monica Seles does not ring a bell with most Americans. SAD. We on this board all want to believe that women's tennis is so popular and in fact it isn't. That's due to a lack of marketing, lack of VISIBILITY, sexism and too much competition from baseball, football and basketball. Golf made a run but is also kind of receding. Most know Tiger Woods and have NEVER HEARD of David Duval, Annika Sorenstam, Carrie Webb or Sergio Garcia even though Tiger has not been winning tournaments much at all lately.

I think you´re right. I´ve only seen tennis live in two countries - England and Spain. The UK fans are quite conservative, unless of course the incredibly exciting Tim Henman is playing, then they´ll all go off and paint their faces and do Mexican waves. Also they tend to support the more established names, and if theres a jolly-spiffing-old-serve-and-vollyer all the better.
In Spain they just seem to appreciate good play, unless one of the players is Spanish, then they´re completely partisan.

From 15 years of watching Grand Slams I´d observe that the French seem to be very fickle - just one small thing can result in a cacophany of boos, and a tournament long vendetta!
The Australians seem to be the most neutral of all, cheering good play at all times, even if an Aussie is losing!

Up and coming players with decent personalities. :)