Charles Reilly, Jr., talks about the recent U.S. Open tournament and the rich tennis history of the Main Line.

Every year the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York City attracts a large following of television viewers and newspaper readers. The big challenge for promoters of the sport is to convert these once-upon-a-time audiences into players or at least supporters of this Grand Old Game. But each September, I wonder if this annual championship will have a positive impact on its audiences or end up actually turning them off. For example, if you happened to drop in from Saturn or Mars to watch the 2005 Open, what would you see? Most of the time there would be two players standing in a relatively small space groaning in primal fashion every time their racquets hit the ball. This is excitement? I think not. Worse, some of the biggest personalities in tennis are among the worst offenders with their irritatingly every-stroke grunts. Not everyone is put off of course and tennis has fanatical fans everywhere including the Main Line (one friend has a license plate: 10S N E 1.) Although to be fair about this, even the most obsessed tennis buffs fall short of the madness exhibited by their sisters and brothers who play golf. Philadelphia has a glorious tennis history full of tradition going way back to the early 1900s when William Clothier, Senior, was the United States national singles champion. R. Norris (Dick) Williams, who like Clothier, played from the nearby Merion Cricket Club, followed as national champion prior to World War I. Not so incidentally, the Williams story should have been made into a motion picture. He was pulled from the freezing waters hours after the Titanic went down in the North Atlantic with both legs so severely injured they were prepared to amputate them in order to save his life.Williams fought back through pain, later served overseas with distinction in World War I and then returned to Philadelphia to resume his play and love of the game.Big Bill Tilden, playing out of the Germantown Cricket Club during the 1920s, was undoubtedly the world's finest player during the first half of the 20th century. There is a long list of champions from the Main Line including Dick Sorlien, Jim Schnaars and Vic Seixas.I have been involved with tennis as both a player and official for more than a half century, and during that period have seen the game evolve in dramatic ways. The technical advances in equipment and player conditioning are two of the most notable changes. With the ability to routinely hit a ball over 100 mph and the physical stamina to do just that for hours on end, the very nature of the game has changed. Wooden racquets and flowing court movement have given way to battering ram poundings accompanied by a lot of noise. Instead of a variety of shots and action from all around the court, the modern game is characterized by big serves, standing on the baseline pounding away at the ball with merciless grunting and groaning echoing throughout the concrete coliseums where big tournaments take place. Modern day tennis has all the charm of a metronome. Boredom has made us shift attention to what the players are wearing on their backs, turning the game into some sort of on court fashion show. Yet even in the doldrums there are islands where a touch of yesterday still exists. Recently, I was a spectator at the finals of the National Seniors Men's 45's and 50's Grass Court Championships at Germantown Cricket. To be sure, there have been changes here as elsewhere over the decades (The club's swimming pool now sits on the site where Tilden once had a private practice court.)But the essence of the gracious game of yesterday still hovers over the clubhouse and the great green lawn where play takes place.I suggest that you consider attending this tournament next year. You can enjoy the game up close in a charming historical setting. The players are uniformly open and friendly, the tennis itself is wonderful so the tradition is till alive if not all that well.I spoke to a long-time tennis official, a gentleman who was referee for countless tournaments a quarter-century ago. I asked him about the state of tennis around the country these days. He looked at me wistfully and said, "I think we had a bit more class back then."Fair enough, but isn't that true of our society in general? What's the answer? Darn if I know except to say that the United States Tennis Association has a lot of programs in place around our Main Line and elsewhere that bring young boys and girls into the game by combing skill training and an equally important emphasis on the good sportsmanship and personal court manners that used to symbolize the sport of tennis.Who knows? If they can eliminate the grunting from the game, the phoenix may yet rise.