PBS高端访谈:展望美国网球的新时代

 　　Plenty of new thrills at this year's U.S. Open. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal is still in. Roger Federer is out.

　　But the big news this year is the success of American women. With the legendary¹ Serena Williams absent -- she delivered her first child last week -- four others stormed into the semifinals.

　　The other great Williams sister, Venus, joined by three new to this grand stage, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, and CoCo Vandeweghe.

　　It's the first all-American semifinals since 1981. And it's quickly rewriting the story of American tennis.

　　Jeffrey Brown reports from Flushing Meadows, New York.

　　Not even U.S. tennis officials dared predict this. Last week, outside the Arthur Ashe Stadium,

　　where the biggest matches are played, I talked to USTA player development director Martin Blackman.

　　So, how soon before we see another U.S. Open American champion?

　　I'm not going to put myself on the spot for that one. You're not going there for me?

　　But I would say between three and five years, we're going to see American women on this court on the final Saturday.

　　Who are not named Williams. Who are not named Williams. Yes.

　　And we're going to see American men on that court.

　　Blackman was way off with the women, with Venus Williams, joined by three other Americans making their first ever appearance on the semis here.

　　As for American men, that will have to wait. Just one, Sam Querrey, made it as far as the Round of 16.

　　In fact, no American man has won here since Andy Roddick in 2003, the last Grand Slam title won by an American man.

　　It's a long drought that American tennis officials are determined² to end. It's so important. You need that.

　　Oh, it's so important. We need American players in here rocking the house, you know, the way Jimmy Connors did, John McEnroe, Agassi, Sampras, the demonstration³ effect for young people.

　　Those were household names, American sports heroes, honored on the wall of champions here at the Flushing Meadows, Queens, home of the U.S. Open.

　　More recently on the men's side, almost all European winners, especially the four greats who have dominated the sport for more than a decade, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.

　　It has really been difficult for anyone to rack up more titles or Grand Slams outside of them. So, it was just a little bit of a tough situation to be in.

　　James Blake knows first hand just how tough. Retired⁴ since 2012, he reached a top ranking of number four in the world in 2006. But he beat Federer just once in 11 tries.

　　Do you think tennis lost its power in the culture of not getting the best athletes or not getting the best training as they are getting in other countries?

　　I don't think it is the training. I think it is the fact that there is a lot more competition in the States.

　　There is basketball, there's football, there's baseball. Soccer has become more popular in the States. Lacrosse has become more popular.

　　So, some of the athletes are going to other sports.

　　Former American great Jim Courier faced plenty of stiff competition from abroad while winning four Grand Slams in the early 1990s.

　　Today, Courier serves as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team, which competes with teams from other countries.

　　He says players around the world are better than ever, with access to all they need to reach the top.

　　I think we have to understand that the world is very different than it was when Americans had nearly 50 percent of the top 100 players.

　　We had the best coaching systems. We had the best information. The world wasn't flat, to borrow Tom Friedman's book title. Information wasn't democratized amongst the Internet.

　　As for American women, no one not named Williams has won a major championship since 2002. But a new generation has been on the rise. Washington Post tennis writer Ava Wallace.

　　On the women's side, there's a lot of optimism. There is people like Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe, Sloane Stephens,

　　who have all, I believe, made semifinals of Grand Slams, which is ultimately the goal in American tennis.

　　That's what the USTA has already said. They want to make Grand Slams, and they want to make the second week of Grand Slams.

　　The USTA, the sport's governing body in this country, has been working hard in recent years to develop a new pipeline⁵ of talent among women and men.

　　For youngsters, there's a program called Net Generation. They were out in force at the U.S. Open watching the pros⁶.

　　For older players, there is a new centralized collaborative approach called Team USA, which offers support, including financial subsidies⁷, to every American ranked in the top 500.

　　That effort got a huge boost this January with the opening of a $60 million 100-plus-court training center near Orlando,

　　where juniors, collegiate players and pros can live and work part- to full-time⁸ and get a variety of help to supplement their own private coaching.

　　Maybe it's strength and conditioning. Maybe it is mental skills. Maybe it's on-the-road coaching.

　　But there is a way that we can help. You're still preserving that customized team around the individual player,

　　but, at the same time, you are leveraging⁹ the performance team expertise¹⁰ that they need to maximize their potential.

　　It is a model that has been used by a lot of Olympic sports.

　　Last week, one American player mentored¹¹ by Blackman, 19-year-old Frances Tiafoe, pushed Federer to the limit, before falling in five sets.

　　Taylor Fritz, also 19, won his first ever Grand Slam match here. After losing a tough second round match, he gamely talked with us about being part of the new USTA approach.

　　I kind of like the Team USA group. It is all the young American guys, we all train together, practice together.

　　We root for each other. We all want each other to do the best, and we push each other.

　　There is like a good competitiveness amongst ourselves.

　　American women on their way to the semifinals also spoke¹² of the camaraderie¹³ they feel.

　　And there is more talent just behind them. Shelby Rogers, in the bright yellow shirt, seeded number 62 here, won one of the most thrilling matches,

　　meeting the higher seeded Australian Daria Gavrilova in a U.S. Open women's record for length, three hours and 33 minutes. Afterwards, she was tired but happy.

　　I love matches like that. You know, that is why I play the sport, the competing, the individuality, the fight.

　　Rogers lost to the number four seed in her next match, but she is a big believer in the potential of her group of American women coming up after the Williams sisters.

　　Venus is still killing¹⁴ it. I love it. But they have been great mentors¹⁵ for us as well. We genuinely want each other to do well, which is a really cool thing to be a part of.

　　Will it work toward putting American men and women atop the tennis world over the long run?

　　Before this week's string of success by American women, former champion Jim Courier said this:

　　We have to also realize that this is very much a meritocracy.

　　The thing that I preach to our young kids is, we are not entitled to success. Because we're American, it means nothing.

　　The tennis ball has no idea what country you are from when you hit it. We have got to earn it like everyone else.

　　We have got to be as hungry, if not hungrier, than everyone else. And we have got to go get it. So, that's my message.

　　For the moment, plenty of reason for hope, particularly with the final foursome this weekend. So, keep your eye on the bouncing ball.

　　For the PBS NewsHour I'm Jeffrey Brown at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. undefined

1 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

6 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

9 leveraging   

促使…改变( leverage的现在分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• De-leveraging is a painful process: it has barely begun. 去杠杆化是个痛苦的过程：它才刚刚开始。
• Archimedes said, saying: Give me a fulcrum, I can leveraging the Earth. 阿基米德说过一句话：给我一个支点，我可以撬动地球。

10 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

11 mentored   

v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They had a fantastic dean who really mentored a lot of people. 那儿的教务长非常出色，的确为许多人提供了指导。 来自互联网
• The famous professor mentored him during his years in graduate school. 那位著名的教授在他读研究生期间指导他。 来自互联网

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网