All eyes have been on Rafael Nadal since he unseated Roger Federer as the world's No. 1. AP

Rafael Nadal's ascent to the top ranking has been accompanied by significant amount of press coverage -- even during an already crowded Olympic season. But, I was particularly struck by the video clip on the ATP Web site congratulating Rafa for this achievement. Full disclosure: I am a huge Rafa fan, but I am curious as to what is driving this. Is it due to Roger's incredible run of 237 weeks? Or is it something else? I can't imagine ATP doing this if Roger recaptures No. 1 next year, or even if Djokovic takes it, for that matter. Any insights on this?
-- Tony Hooper, New York

• You don't recall the confetti and balloons when Lleyton Hewitt achieved the top ranking? I think a lot of this is, as you suspect, context. Coming off the longest stint at No. 2 in rankings history, Nadal takes the top spot. It comes the same week he wins Olympic gold, a few weeks after he takes down the long-time No. 1 in the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played. (Hereafter: GTMEP) Add in the fact that he's a popular, handsome, marketable 22-year-old and, well, it's easy to see why both the media and ATP went to town on this.

Can you tell me anything about how umpires are selected for matches? It seems like the same person is always in the chair for the same players.
-- John, Melbourne

• Don't tell the supervisors that! I think there are some basic ground rules. For one, the chair is supposed to have appearances of neutrality so if an American plays a German, the umpire will be neither German nor American. (If two players are from the same country, then it's possible that the chair umpire will be a compatriot.) Language is an issue too. Also, if Player X has a longstanding dispute with Official Y, efforts will be made to keep the two apart. To your question, however, it's rare the certain umpires "always" or even "often" work the same players' matches.

OK -- I know the Olympics are over, but I have a question that just won't die. Why is there a bronze medal match in the Olympics? I mean technically speaking -- the Silver and Bronze Medal winners have the SAME amount of wins and losses the only difference is WHEN those losses and wins occurred. Why not give BOTH losing semi-finalists a Bronze?
-- Marcos, San Francisco

• I think it sets a lousy precedent to award both semifinalists a co-bronze. And I can't imagine they do this in any event. It is unfortunate that a player -- James Blake and Na Li in 2008 -- can come in fourth, and yet leave the event on a two-match losing streak. Still, I can't think of a better alternative, short of revamping the entire format and making it a real international competition.

Can we grant Bjorn Phau the title of peskiest tennis player on the tour? I recall him annoying Federer a couple of years ago.
-- Yves, Montreal

• Done. Remember, he beat Agassi a few years ago too. He's one of those players whom, one suspects, would have been a world beater, had he been born in 1940.

It was fantastic to see Sabatini again, if only the girl had possessed a serve, she'd at least have a Wimbledon to join her U.S. Open. But the major question about Monday night's ceremony is: Where were Agassi, Graf and Sampras?
-- Gldartt, Truro, Nova Scotia

• There's a babysitting strike in Vegas? A birdie told me that the USTA had hoped to honor Agassi on opening night and this "Forty Years of Open Tennis" theme was a deep Plan B. I can't imagine his absence last night helped sooth feelings. Leave it to the New York Post to jump on this.

Shots, Miscellany

• I think we're getting close to exhausting our supply of O3 Speedport Black Rackets, but here's today's winner in the "Random Encounters with a Tennis Pro" contest:

Doug Chaskin of Manhasset, N.Y.:

I was working at the East Gate parking lot during the 1994 U.S. Open where many of the top players used to park or get dropped off. A dream job for a tennis fan that has the time. For me, it was perfect, in between the end of my summer job and the start of classes at St. John's Law School. So, exiting the lot at the end of the day can be difficult for many who parked there. The issue was that the traffic flow out of the lot was to the right, which usually led to 15 minutes of single lane traffic through the grounds to get to the highways. Alternatively, traffic could be halted at the lot exit to allow a car to make a left turn and a much easier route to Manhattan. Various individuals would ask me to do this and I was happy to do it. Brad Gilbert, who was coaching Agassi that year, had asked me for the favor and even volunteered to give me a pair of the sneakers Andre had made popular at the time (pink/black Nike three quarters). Andre kept winning and I had done this for Brad a few times during the first week. He was gracious enough, but of course, no sneakers. For whatever reason, after Andre had made it through the early rounds, Brad had stopped using the lot. Several days went by, Andre kept on winning, but no sign of Brad. I honestly forgot about the sneakers. But sure enough, during an evening of the final weekend (after having not seen him in nearly a week), Brad drives up, opens the trunk, hands me my lucky size 13s, and drives off. This obviously gave Andre good karma as he continued to win straight through Sunday to cap off his unexpected run.

• Nice to see Anna Lena Groenefeld score the upset of the day, beating Daniela Hantuchova. A former top 20 player, Groenefeld slipped outside the top 100, endured some personal hardships, took some time off from tennis and -- after qualifying -- is still alive with a real chance to go much further.

• What's up, though, with Hantuchova? She hasn't put together consecutive wins since Indian Wells.

• It's early, but here's a candidate for quote of the tournament. Ryler De Heart beats Oli Rochus in five sets.

"How does it feel to win your first ATP event?

De Heart: Feels great. I didn't think I was even going to be able to go five sets. To win five was awesome. Now I have an easy match coming up. So that's good."

His next opponent? Nadal

• Oh wait, we have a new winner. Here's Na Li:

Q. What's it like for you in New York when you walk through New York? What do you like here?

Na: I like the street number five.

Q. Fifth Avenue?

Na: Yeah. I was talk to my husband. I say, OK, after the match we have to go there. He say, No. Save the money for me. I stay in the house.

So after the match I will go there. I mean, I didn't care about him, so I go myself. Taking credit card. That's it.

• Loyal NYC reader of New York, N.Y. writes: Something I thought you'd find funny -- one of the local NYC papers put together a "fashion faceoff" on their blog, with all the celebs attending the U.S. Open: U.S. Open tennis fashion face-off: Anna Wintour, Martha Stewart, Paula Abdul vs. Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer and ... John McEnroe?

• The USTA announced that high school tennis coaches, Rich Taylor from Forest Grove High School in Forest Grove, Ore., and Sue Bordainick from Ramapo High School in Spring Valley, N.Y., have been selected as the 2008 USTA Starfish Award winners. This national award recognizes two high school coaches who implement a "no-cut" policy for their tennis teams. The awards will be presented at the 38th Annual USTA Tennis Teachers Conference August 23-26 in New York City. A no-cut program ensures that every student has the opportunity to play a high school sport. Since its inception in 2005, the USTA's No-Cut program has been embraced by coaches across the country, nearly doubling with each year. The program started with 998 coaches registering in the first year, and has swelled to more than 2,400 coaches currently and is growing every day. Through no-cut programs, thousands of students are given the opportunity to participate on a tennis team and represent their schools as a student-athlete.

• Chelsea C. of Los Angeles, Calif. has Long Lost Siblings:

Justine Henin didn't retire. She plays football for Oklahoma as a quarterback!