Five things we've learned through two days in Queens

The hype machine on Donald Young began three years ago. Now, finally, at age 18, maybe he'll have the space to succeed. Al Bello/Getty Images

MAILBAG Jon Wertheim will answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag every Wednesday. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

One of you suggested this format and I figure it's worth a try. Maybe we'll alternate between this format and Q&A baguettes.

Here are Five Things We've Learned at the Open so far:

1. Tennis Has a Firm Pulse. Get too close to this sport -- as execs, media types and hard-core fans do -- and it's easy to get caught up in the petty squabbling and maddeningly flaws of pro tennis. You harp on the conflicts of interests, ridicule the alphabet soup fiefdoms, talk about soulless and hollow concepts like "road maps."

The U.S. Open is a nice reality check. Tens of thousands of fans come out to spend a day in the sun, watching tennis played at the highest level. They could scarcely care less whether Monte Carlo keeps its a Masters Series designation or whether the ITF approves of moving the WTA finale to Istanbul.

But these fans cheer for their favorites, they cramp back courts to rally behind that gritty Spanish qualifier and scream for autographs outside the practice courts. Step back from the politics and you realize this sport, for all its flaws, has plenty going for it.

2. Donald Young has Skillz. Young was conferred entirely too much hype as a 15-year-old. He was conferred entirely too much criticism as a 16- and 17-year-old. Now, at age 18, the extremism has died down and you have a talented player, winning matches and confidence in equal measure.

Proclamations about his "greatness" are premature. He still needs to work on strategy and resist his fondness for cute, high-risk shot-making. But it's hard not to be optimistic about the kid: In his win against Chris Guccione, Young was sticking his ground strokes, showed off exceptional speed and, perhaps most important, consistently served in the 120s.

3. Nikolay Davydenko isn't lawyered up. Sadly, Davydenko has gotten 10 times more attention for his involvement in a gambling inquiry than for his top-five status. While this doesn't necessarily point to Davydenko's guilt or innocence -- that will happen the Betfair investigators follow the money trial and see if the guys placing the big wagers are connected to the implicated players -- you have to applaud the guy for his candor.

After his win Monday, Davydenko faced the media. Instead of offering "no comments" or damning "on the advice of counsel" statements, the D-Man was wildly candid. Even speaking in a foreign tongue. Read it here.

4. The top women stars are back from summer vacation. The last three Grand Slam winners -- Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams -- averaged fewer than one event played between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Yet each cruised to first-round victories, looking only minimally rusty. Still says here the Serena-Henin quarterfinal is the de facto final.

5. Roger Federer isn't perfect. Apart from playing peerless tennis, the three-time defending champ has an uncommon knack for saying and doing the right things. He is not, however, infallible, as evidenced by his press conference on Monday.

After dusting Scoville Jenkins, Federer was asked what he knew about Althea Gibson. Federer responded: "I don't know. You're putting me on the spot. I don't know what you're talking about." Nudged by the "hint" that she was being honored later in the evening, he still drew a blank. "It's before my time. Isn't much I can really say about it. I don't know, I'm sorry."

Allowing for the fact that Federer is a tennis player and not a historian -- and he grew up in a foreign country (Switzerland) where the Civil Rights movement might not be part of the curriculum -- his remarks were surprisingly tone-deaf.

This isn't a politically correct cant. It's simply that a tennis purist who hates instant replay, a traditionalist who reveres Rod Laver, ought to have at least heard of a pioneering Wimbledon champ, particularly when her name has been inescapable at this event. I suppose that in a way, this opens a window into just how "tunneled" a top-tier athlete must be.