Quiet…Sort Of
Television “techies” were probably joyous sifting through all the catch “the action choices” that were made available because of the “fan-less” tournament. There seemed to be an app for everything. And while some produced dodgy results they often offered wonderful distractions – and maybe that’s what they were for in the first place.
Perhaps it was because I am located in Southern California and the “feed” from the two channels offering US Open coverage had “two ‘off’ weeks”. It almost seemed that because there were no spectators, the commentators thought that they had to take up or fill up the open space. True, over the years, I have been blessed to do commentary work with the likes of John Barrett and Chris Bowers as well as David Mercer, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. They used words well, concisely and precisely. As the legendary Dan Maskell use to suggest, and I am paraphrasing, “fewer words tell a better story.” During the two weeks of coverage, it often seemed as if the viewer was eavesdropping on a “Free-Association” session between a commentator and a psychologist.
Alexander Zverev’s quarterfinal match with Borna Coric of Croatia is a case in point. Before serving, the German said to courtside commentator Brad Gilbert to quiet down because he was talking too loudly. “I can hear every single word you’re saying…” So could the viewers..
