Things We Like:

Mary Carillo: We never understood why Carillo, the best voice for tennis on ESPN, NBC and CBS (not to mention HBO with Bryant Gumbel), wasn't used by USA. It's no wonder that four channels would want her. If anything, we wish she wouldn't be relegated at night to women's matches.  But at least we get to her for day matches, and for two weeks now.

No Tracy Austin: She was probably the weakest link in USA's coverage. Her analysis was predictable, her interest in the matches was questionable. We're grateful ESPN stuck to its own team.

Sideline reports: USA's coverage was familiar and wonderful, but in a way, it's been useful to shake things up because ESPN has brought a certain intensity to the coverage. On Monday night, when Venus Williams mysteriously called a trainer early in the match, they turned to Pam Shriver who interviewed Richard Williams and revealed she had a knee problem. Later in the match, Shriver interviewed Billie Jean King who gave even more: Venus told her recently that she suffered from patellar tendinitis. (We don't know, either, but we're happy to learn.) USA's Michael Barkann spent his time interviewing Tony Bennett or David Dinkins. We prefer it ESPN's way. It's also worth mentioning that Mary Joe Fernandez and Pam Shriver, once unlistenable, have become improved light years.

Hannah Storm: We're not entirely sure how ESPN dug up Hannah Storm, but she looks great and she sounds even better. Nice move.

Using the Outdoor Studio: USA only occassionally touched the outdoor patio outside the south gate of Ashe, and ESPN doesn't seem to get enough of it--or the use of its camera near the South Plaza. It's an intimate touch, and it connects the grounds to the matches inside. Really nicely done.

Things We Could Do Without:

Chris Fowler in the broadcast booth: Though he seems to have actually read up on his tennis, he still lacks the soft touch of Ted Robinson that's critical to a good tennis broadcast. Someone remind him that this isn't college football.

Too Much Brad Gilbert: He needs to be treated the way Tony Siragusa is dealt with at FOX for NFL broadcasts. Keep him on the sidelines and go to him occasionally. He can be a useful voice at times, but to use him as the primary voice? Too many fist-pumps, too little insight.

Daren Cahill as on-court interviewer: He explains forehands and backhands. Don't let him do interviews. If you must experiment with him, try this at other smaller tournaments.

The Patrick McEnroe and John McEnroe Broadcast team: We like each of these guys separately. But each announcer has benefited from partners not named McEnroe: Cliff Drysdale complimented Patrick at ESPN, and Ted Robinson and Dick Enberg have looked over John at NBC and CBS, respectively. The novelty of two brothers in the booth wears thin pretty fast.

Yet, if we return to Mary Carillo’s point from two weeks ago -- that the Williams sisters haven’t lived to their potential -- here’s something that underscores it.

Serena Williams has finished only one year at number one; Venus Williams never has.

Here’s a look at the number of weeks some big names have spent at number one: 

No one's going to argue with their amazing record in the big tournaments. But just think how dominant they'd be if they played all the time.

"I was dead wrong at that," she said.

It's not a new sentiment for Carillo, who told me last year in an interview that the Williams sisters "created a Tiger-like buzz" when they started winning, but never made a Tiger Woods-like imprint on the game because "they play so seldom."

On Saturday, at a press briefing, Serena Williams responded to those comments in a typically aggressive way.

"Well, I think I've had a little more effect on tennis history than she has," she said. "I'm pretty excited about that."

Her endlessly quotable dad, Richard Williams, had this to say:

"I think that Mary has a good idea of tennis, but I'm just glad that the Williams sisters don't play the way she did so they have a chance of winning."