I've cut and pasted two articles I found on the web relative to the subject title above. Two historical events in the tennis world occurred to end the French Open this weekend in Paris. These two events had nothing to do with Roger and Rafa's renewal of their rivalry on a 'Grand Slam' stage, that said NBC's ratings for the men's championship were up 63% from last year. One event was aided by a young American named after Bjorn Borg, whom Rafa just moved past in the French Open record books with his 6th title, surpassing Borg's five.
Hopefully the impact of both these events snowballs into something bigger and better in the near future, wherein the growth of the sport here and in China will steadily rise. If tennis participation rises in both these immense countries, it will undoubtedly rise the world over.
'Barron Collier coach saw how good French Open junior champ Bjorn Fratangelo would be'
By ADAM FISHER
Naples Daily News -Posted June 6, 2011
NAPLES — It was early in the spring of 2009, and the Barron Collier boys tennis team was starting its season against state powerhouse Miami-Dr. Krop. Cougars coach Eric Manring was excited about the upcoming season, largely because of the arrival of a talented freshman who was expected to be the team's top player.
In the first match of the season, Manring saw just how talented his new No. 1 player was. Bjorn Fratangelo, the freshman, went head-to-head with Dr. Krop's top singles player, Billy Federhofer, a senior with the edge in experience and a scholarship to the University of Florida.
Fratangelo didn't flinch. The freshman beat Federhofer, and showed his coach a flash of his potential.“It was one of the best junior matches I've seen to this day,” Manring said. “I was sitting there in awe. It really blew me away. For him to win that match. … I could tell he was going to be something special.”
The rest of the world found out Sunday what Manring has known for more than two years. Fratangelo, 17, put himself on the international tennis map by winning the French Open boys singles titles. He is the first American to win the event since John McEnroe in 1977.
Fratangelo played just one year at Barron Collier. He moved to Naples with his family from the Pittsburgh area before his freshman year, and helped the Cougars win district and regional titles in 2009.
After concentrating on national junior tournaments rather than high school tennis, Fratangelo had some big victories the past two years. He won back-to-back titles at the USTA National Clay Courts Championships in 2009 and 2010, and won the championship at the prestigious Easter Bowl in 2010.
Fratangelo's biggest victory yet came Sunday. Unranked in the French Open field, he dropped his first set before coming back to beat Dominic Thiem of Austria, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6. The French Open is one of four major tournaments in tennis.
“It's pretty amazing,” Manring said. “I knew Bjorn is very talented, but to pull that off is quite a feat. It's unbelievable.”
Though he spends summers in Plum, Pa., Fratangelo lives in Naples the rest of the year. He his home-schooled and takes online courses while training with his father, Mario, a local professional who has worked with several Barron Collier players.
Manring said he sees Fratangelo from time to time at Barron Collier matches. The former Cougar is still good friends with many of his former teammates, including No. 1 singles player Brett Clark. Clark, who led the Cougars to their second straight state championship this season, still plays with Fratangelo.
The French Open is played on clay, which Manring said was to Fratangelo's advantage because most the courts in Naples are clay. Fratangelo's intense training schedule also helped, his former coach said.
“He's just a super, super consistent player,” Manring said. “He trains sick, disgusting hours on the court. He's definitely put in the work. He deserves it.”
Post-Match Interview - 2011 French Open Junior Champion Bjorn Fratangelo
'Tennis industry thanks Li Na'
By Liu Chang for the 'Global Times' - June 7, 2011
The umpire's cry of "Game, Set, Match, Li Na" in the French Open final on Saturday not only marked the first Grand Slam title for a Chinese player, but represented a watershed mark for tennis in China as courts, training centers, and sports shops braced for good business.
According to Xinhua, 95 million Chinese watched Li defeat Italy's Francesca Schiavone to become the nation's latest sports darling. Her official Weibo microblog saw her followers climb from 1.6 million to more than 2.1 million since her semifinal win over Maria Sharapova.
Li's name also became the latest buzzword for selling tennis products. On e-business platform Taobao, "Li Na" has become a synonym for tennis-related products. A search for the name will return thousands of tennis-related items, such as rackets and clothes. Some saw their tennis gear sales more than double during the weekend.
Aibo Sports, a popular tennis center in Hangzhou, received at least 100 calls from parents wanting to enroll their children for classes over the summer.
Tang Gengguo, director of the center, was quoted by the Hangzhou-based City Express as saying he expects to see more students over the summer than in all of last year.
The Nanjing-based Modern Express said that sales of Li Na's model of tennis racket were going through the roof and that tennis courts across the city were close to being fully booked.
In Shenyang, the situation is similar. According to a report by the Liaoshen Evening News, shops saw an uncommonly vast number of customers on Sunday, while the phone lines at the Shenyang Tennis Center were jammed with calls.
At the Kuaixue tennis center in Beijing, Su, the center's director, told the Global Times that he changed the tag on the center's website to "Powerful Li Na" before her semifinal, and had seen an increase of online visitors since.
"I am also receiving more calls about tennis training," Su said.
This new craze for the sport is not without similarities with the passion for snooker in 2005, after Ding Junhui won the World Snooker China Open and the UK Championship.
Despite being virtually unknown in China before Ding's rise to prominence, China now owns the world's largest snooker table and cue manufacturers, and has the sport's largest annual procurement value in the world. There are 60 million snooker players nationwide now, with about 300 professional players, according to City Express.
This clip is HILARIOUS & I kinda suspected from this moment seen above, where Na's skills on the tennis court were now truly known to the tennis world with her first grand slam final. That she was getting to show this bright personality with brilliant comedic timing and was coming of age in front of our eyes. Well then she and being a first, was now just opening up the window and staring in on some rarefied air, and her ascent but actually her arrival there. This special accomplishment, of one country's first person to be in a most prestigious world tennis tournament final match. Na had all the chops and cool to handle. I think when they do a 20yr retro-spec it will be amazing to see her influence over the direction of the sport in her country, and do not forget that in the present, her advertising and endorsement value was in that same air too - 2011 Australian Open Semi-Final On-Court Interview - Li Na
