Your Answers	01/28/2009 - 2:07 AM

Hot day in Melbourne, where officials have closed the roof over Rod Laver Arena (a controversial decision) and suspended play on the outside courts. I'll be back with more on the day's events later on. For now, here are answers to five of your questions. Thanks for stopping by.

Is it easier to see the lines on a two-tone blue court (as opposed to a green/blue contrast, for example)?
My impression is the lines stand out on either court, and I've heard no complaints from players. Peter Bodo complained about the all-blue courts in a post earlier this week, and I agree that on television, the color scheme doesn't work. In person, though, I don't mind it.

Do players read the press reports on matches or avoid them in an effort to prevent any kind of stress?
At the risk of stating the obvious, every player is different. Andy Roddick seems to read the sports pages; earlier this week I saw Vera Zvonareva reading the interview transcripts of fellow players (she told me she was bored and that it's not a habit). I usually suspect that a good number of players who claim to ignore media coverage actual read quite a bit (they seem to know what people are saying about them, despite professing ignorance). Others, I'm sure, couldn't care less.

Is there any possibility that the Australian Open will be moved on the calendar?
I say slim to none. Right now, it coincides with the summer vacation and a holiday weekend (Australia Day). I'm also told by locals that if you push the tournament back a week or two, you actually risk hotter temperatures. I don't see it happening.

I've noticed more women using one-handed backhands lately. Maybe it's just chance, but I hope I'm wrong. Is a new trend coming?
My guess: This is apparent because the Spaniards have had a strong tournament. I don't see a trend. If anything, I would expect two-handed backhands to become even more dominant. Kids are learning to play at younger ages, and it's difficult to control a one-hander as a child.

Can you tell me how it's decided who gets to call the coin toss? Is it simply at the umpire's discretion? Also, how is it decided where the players sit? I know some of them have preferred sides, but what happens if two opponents want the same side?
Love the question: Something we don't often think about (and I didn't know the answer). According to folks at the International Tennis Federation, the choice of chair is first come, first serve. I have no idea whether players talk about it beforehand or whether the lower seed instinctively defers to the higher seed. As for the coin toss, the umpire just asks one of the players to call heads or tails (in other words, the choice is random). No matter what, each player has 50-50 odds, so it doesn't matter who gets to call the coin.

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