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The doubles debate
Jon Wertheim
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=cnnsi-thedoublesdebat&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns
Right to the questions ...
Here's a reason the ATP should pay more attention to doubles: Most of us hacks play it exclusively. I'm not included here, but as one of my league tennis team's singles players, I ended up with heat exhaustion after playing three two-hour-long matches in as many days at the Southern Section Championships, and even I'm beginning to recognize that as I get closer to 40, I may not be able to take the heat against guys 15 to 20 years my junior. (I sympathize with Andre Agassi!) People want to watch the sport they actually play (NASCAR notwithstanding), and the ATP needs to recognize this. -- Kevin Knudson, Starkville, Miss.
This was a hot topic both within and without Bagville last week. The more I hear I about this, the more clear it becomes that these "enhancements" for doubles: a) represent underhanded backroom politics at its most unseemly, b) have antagonized the Slams, something the ATP is ill-advised to do these days, c) have generated fan backlash that will only grow when people see these sweeping changes in practice, and d) have not only infuriated the doubles players but also the singles stars who feel for their buddies and see this as the ATP favoring the tournament directors at the expense of the dues-paying members. Get the feeling the ATP miscalculated badly on this one.
As for the notion that more singles players might be inclined to play doubles, we tossed this one to Andy Roddick, and here's his response: "I don't think I'll play more, you know. I don't -- I just don't think I will. My focus is singles. And, you know, if I need the extra practice, I'll go out on a practice court. I play sometimes for fun, but I don't think, you know, that playing -- whatever they're playing, half sets and no switchovers and, you know, five-second shot clock or something, I don't think I'm going to play any more doubles." We also point out that, Rafael Nadal, the player the ATP trotted out to provide a spoon-fed soundbite supporting the changes, pulled out of doubles last week in Montreal after reaching the quarters in singles, a trend that will surely continue.
Anyway, Kevin raises a fair point. Most recreational hacks play doubles, not singles. You'd think these folks would like to watch how the experts do it. No one is arguing that something needs to be done to "enhance" doubles. But the view here is that the problem is marketing, not an inherently flawed product. If you agree, you can show your support during the U.S. Open. If the Bryans, Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, etc., play before significant crowds it would send a strong message to the ATP.
This Monica Seles hiatus has a "will Pete Sampras retire, or won't he?" feel to it. I know you'll say athletes should have the right to call it quits on their terms, but that's PC fluff. I am curious as to what your real thoughts are about issues like this? -- Jon Berg, Seattle
Far as we're concerned, Seles pretty much gets a pass on anything this side of grand theft auto. But even if we are talking about Jill Q. Player, I fail to see the PC fluff. By wavering about her retirement, Seles is hurting ... whom exactly? Unlike a player in a team sport perpetually on the IR, she's not taking someone's job. There's no guaranteed contract hamstringing the club's payroll or affecting its draft order. Fans are disappointed but surely no less so than if she just walked away. (Yes, by staying "active" Seles is surely remaining on various endorsement payrolls. But who's going to begrudge her that?)
I think I was somewhat critical of Sampras' retirement because of the clumsy handling. The same week his people were whispering that he hadn't touched a racket in months, tournaments were announcing that Sampras had committed to play. Then, invariably, the camp would prepare a statement, and he'd withdraw. This went on for an entire year and it was, frankly, beneath him.
In Seles' case, there's no misdirection or disingenuous announcement. She clearly wants to return. It's a question of whether her body will cooperate.
What is the difference between Nikolay Davydenko, Radek Stepanek and Dominik Hrbaty? About every other week one of them makes a quarterfinal and then disappears. And of course, their matches never get a nanosecond of airtime. Am I missing something? -- Alvar Svensson, Tallmadge, Ohio
I guess we finally let you in on the secret. It's the same person. Sometimes he uses the alias "Jiri Novak," as well. Tax purposes and all.
Entry, Race and now the U.S. Open Series rankings ... When will the nonsense stop? -- Chuck Keenum, Los Angeles
Agree. The USTA has a swell concept -- let's use our television leverage to package an event with a consistent television platform, creating build-up to the Open. Why can't they leave it at that instead of hubristically gilding the lily and turning it into a logo-a-thon -- replete with its own meaningless ranking system and a bonus pool that hasn't lured a single marquis player? Imagine a casual fan hearing about the Rogers Cup ATP Masters Event that's part of the U.S. Open Series. Huh?
I wish the tennis administrators would see e-mails like this and -- and Chuck is hardly the only person who's raised this issue -- and realize how maddeningly confusing and petty this land grab appears to the average fan.
Does anyone get sick of Roger Federer? I often find his remarks obnoxious and seemingly out of character. Is he rude and obnoxious? By the way, I realize you won't agree with me because no one is ever willing to see that side of him, but I thought I would take a shot. -- Rach, Sydney, Australia
I won't agree with you, but I'll publish your question. If Federer is rude and obnoxious, Gael Monfils is old and fat. This same sentiment was expressed by a few of you during the French Open. Pressed for specifics, it seems that Federer -- who'd lost four matches so far all year -- had the unmitigated arrogance to proclaim that while he respected everyone, he feared no one. What am I missing here?
Just received my tickets to the upcoming U.S. Open. The grounds pass is up three dollars and the convenience charge of $6.50, plus the $3.05 order processing fee per ticket is a nice touch. Will the price of a burger be going up, as well? If the USTA continues at this rate the typical tennis fan will be left watching it on TV. -- Greg, Spartanburg, S.C.
But think of all the logos your money is helping to underwrite.
Federer's winning percentage is over 93 percent, including Davis Cup matches since the start of 2004. How does that compare to the greatest two-year runs by any other tennis player? Please have someone get on this; I can't take hearing about Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps anymore! -- Jon Rapkin, Wellington, Fla.
Greg Sharko, tennis' Stephen Hawking, informs us: The last player to post .900 or better in back-to-back years was Ivan Lendl in '86 (74-6, .925) and '87 (74-7, .914). If Federer keeps up this pace, he may have the highest winning percentage in back-to-back years. I'm with you on Tiger and Lance, but who's Phelps? Jaycee? Ken? Digger? Surely not Michael.
In the recent San Diego tournament, why did the announcers keep saying Feng Shui instead of Shuai Peng? -- Ben, Los Angeles
Are you sure they weren't discussing the arrangement of the umpire's chair relative to the players' seats? My guess is they were saying "Peng Shuai." Check this out.
By the way. Not sure where this came from -- Daily Tennis, maybe? -- but someone forwarded us this short article about the curious whereabouts of Chinese players:
"China's fast-rising players led by Top 40 contender Shuai Peng will end what has been a fractured tennis year early in order to complete their playing obligations in a national Olympic-style event scheduled for early October. The October competition ranks second behind the International Olympic Games in sporting importance to the world's most populous nation. Peng is the prize player for a squad from the city of Tianjin, and there's no getting around the commitment. The WTA Guangzhou event the week after Beijing is expected to be lacking in local players, a particularly odd situation in a country where the political elite have taken to tennis as the Japanese did decades ago when golf was introduced there. Taiwan-born, Florida-based coach Alan Ma, guides Peng on the WTA tour when not running his International Tennis Academy in Delray Beach, Florida, home of a smaller men's ATP event. The coach cannot discount the importance the quadrennial Chinese Olympics play in national sporting life. 'These decisions affect two billion people,' he said of a schedule drawn up several years ago which unfortunately requires preliminary rounds in March, singles events in June and team events in October. 'The next event won't be until 2009,' he assures. 'Think about it, no Chinese players in a Chinese tournament,' said Ma, who also works with Peng at her training base in Florida."
So there's this guy who plays on the ATP tour. A very defensive-minded player who wins by getting a lot of balls back and waiting for the unforced errors of his more offensive-minded opponents. This guy has a trademark fist pump, screams a lot, acts pretty rude towards his opponents by cheering their mistakes and double faults and treats every victory as if he had just discovered the cure for AIDS or world hunger. I actually thought this was Lleyton Hewitt with a dark tan and some biceps, but I realize he goes by the name of Rafael Nadal. Funny, though, if it were Hewitt people would actually be admitting how obnoxious he is. -- Nora Eisen, Rosario
When Nadal sues the tour, makes homophobic and racially-tinged remarks during matches, and acts as though every off-court demand on his time is akin to a request for his left kidney, I would be more inclined to agree. But a few of you have taken issue with Nadal's emoting, so I'll post this as you can continue the discourse, if you like, on message boards, etc.
This goes to the discussion a few weeks ago about player-fan interactions. I took my eight-year-old son to the Mercedes-Benz cup in L.A. He had his oversized tennis ball ready for autographs, and he experienced both ends of the "cool player" spectrum -- Bob Bryan, James Blake and Dominic Hrbaty graciously signed his ball -- A WELL KNOWN VETERAN, on the other hand, surrounded by body guards passed by my son and watched as his body guard shoved my son out of the way. I followed the entourage to the entrance of the players' lounge to speak with this guard, and A WELL KNOWN VETERAN stood just inside the door and heard my conversation with the guard. He looked at my son and still didn't sign the ball. By the way, it was "Kids Day" and A WELL KNOWN VETERAN had just won his match. He lost the next round -- I like to think it was cosmic justice. -- Michael Patterson, Burbank
Thanks. My instincts are to name -- and thus publicly shame -- the misanthrope player. But without getting his side of the story, or at least independent corroboration, it's not really fair.
More memorable tennis points from recent memory:
Ian, Key Biscayne, Fla.: You have to include the dramatic Sampras-Agassi 22-stroke rally with Agassi serving at set point against him at 4-5 in the first set of the '95 U.S. Open final. After pulling each other farther and farther off the court, Sampras nailed a backhand (people forget his backhand was good back then) that Agassi couldn't reach. That point completely changed the match. Sampras said afterward: "It was probably one of the best points I've ever been a part of. We were both running each other around. That was a huge point."
That's a good one. If memory serves, it was the basis for an entire Nike commercial, replete with announcers falling asleep in the broadcast booth. (Remember those halcyon days, when Nike produced tennis ads?)
Eric Hacker, Denton, Texas: Regarding the best point/rally, you could pull several from the Martina Hingis/Jana Novotna semifinal at the '97 Lipton tournament. It looked more like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on grass than Hingis and Novotna on Florida's hard courts. Specifically, check out the point where Novotna virtually skis to a volley, wins the point and then curtsies to the camera nearest her stopping point.
Roberto Clarise, Beverly Hills, Calif. Well, not so much a question as it is an observation/correction. Under your "best shot" response you said Venus Williams' pass off of Hingis' overhead deserved mention. In all honesty, I think it was the opposite -- with Hingis hitting one of the worst overheads at the worst time. There were better shots during that match by both players than that pass. However, that overhead begs the question, what are the worst shots in tennis history?
Nice one. Did any of you catch Greg Rusedski missing that gimme putaway against Mario Ancic? I mean this was a floater so meek that any club player would have won the point 99 times out of 100. Rusedski got cute and dumped it in the net -- but went on to win the match so we don't feel too bad for him.
I suppose some of Novotna's ill-timed double-faults makes the list. Same for some of Serena Williams' ill-disguised, ill-conceived, ill-executed drop shots against Justine Henin-Hardenne in the '03 French semifinal. Others? Roddick's last service game against Joachim Johansson at the Open last year. I'll open this one up to you guys. ...
Just got home from attending the JP Morgan Chase Open at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., that Maria Sharapova pulled out of with injury. I understand players get injured and can't compete, but couldn't some of the top players stick around to sign autographs or pose for pictures with their fans? Or at least come on court and speak to the fans for a moment? There were so many disappointed people there with no one to be excited about. No Sharapova, no Williams sisters, no Lindsay Davenport, not even Kim Clijsters whose day match with Nadia Petrova, in my opinion, should have been rescheduled as the marquee match on Friday night. And then to have doubles scratched, as well ... I was with a person who was attending his first professional tennis tournament and said he would never go to another. -- Martin Lomeli, Long Beach, Calif.
Excellent point. This ought to be mandatory reading for tennis administrators and players. And, frankly, it is yet another reason why the ATP would do well to reconsider the doubles changes. Singles star pulls out with an injury? Well, that stinks, but here are some doubles matches. Plus the Bryans will hit serves to fans brave enough to return them. And anyone who doesn't get aced gets a prize. There are ways to salvage unfortunate situations. Saying, effectively, "Maria can't play. Sucks for you guys," doesn't grow the sport.
Please advise where I can get a DVD Copy of the '05 women's Wimbledon final between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport. -- Jill Smith, Bermuda
Can someone help a friendly Bermudan?
Some random jottings:
• It pains us to acknowledge the existence of the ATP "Race." But more than record, No. 2 Nadal entered Cincinnati with more race points than No. 3 Roddick and No. 4 Hewitt.
• More wacky stats: Heading into his first-round match against James Blake, Roger Federer was 1-4 for his career in Cincinnati.
• And another: So far this year, there have been six Masters Series and three Majors: Either Federer or Nadal has won all but one (the Australian Open).
• An observation after spending a few days in Cincinnati: Club pros would do well to start teaching that squash shot. Unlike, say, the "one-legged backhand" which looks cool but seldom wins points that defensive squash flick shot can be really effective.
• John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic, Aaron Krickstein, Guillermo Vilas, Anders Jarryd, Johan Kriek, Peter McNamara and Mansour Bahrami will be on hand this weekend for the LTU Champions trophy at the Sportime Club in Amagansett, Long Island. Check out this site for more info.
• Came across a copy of the Binghampton, N.Y. Challenge draw. Really a fascinating window into just how brutal a sport this is. Andre Murray won the thing, still more evidence he is the real deal, or at least will keep British tennis press busy after Tim Henman retires. But it was the other names that caught our eye. Brian Vahaly, a former top-50 player, lost in the first round to Rajeev Ram. Alex Bogomolov Jr. (a/k/a Mr. Ashley Harkleroad) won two matches before falling to Murray. Harel Levy, celebrating the anniversary of his run to the TMS Canada final, lost in the first round.
• What's up with the Pacific Life Open staying in Indian Wells? Read this article.
• Congratulations to Logan Anna Rosner. May this be the first of many Google hits.
• This week's recommendation: Francis X. Rocca's The Next Superpower?: The Rise of Europe and Its Challenge to the United States
• A Nethead writes: "The Netheads have a few half price U.S. Open tickets for the September 1st day session and the September 2nd day and night sessions. Folks can go to our Web site or e-mail [email protected] for more information. We are always looking for new Netheads, and yes we do pay for our tickets."
• Yevgeny (He who dies with the most toys wins) Kafelnikov took a wild card into the Russian Open golf tournament and finished 16 shots over.
Have a great week, everyone!
Jon Wertheim
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=cnnsi-thedoublesdebat&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns
Right to the questions ...
Here's a reason the ATP should pay more attention to doubles: Most of us hacks play it exclusively. I'm not included here, but as one of my league tennis team's singles players, I ended up with heat exhaustion after playing three two-hour-long matches in as many days at the Southern Section Championships, and even I'm beginning to recognize that as I get closer to 40, I may not be able to take the heat against guys 15 to 20 years my junior. (I sympathize with Andre Agassi!) People want to watch the sport they actually play (NASCAR notwithstanding), and the ATP needs to recognize this. -- Kevin Knudson, Starkville, Miss.
This was a hot topic both within and without Bagville last week. The more I hear I about this, the more clear it becomes that these "enhancements" for doubles: a) represent underhanded backroom politics at its most unseemly, b) have antagonized the Slams, something the ATP is ill-advised to do these days, c) have generated fan backlash that will only grow when people see these sweeping changes in practice, and d) have not only infuriated the doubles players but also the singles stars who feel for their buddies and see this as the ATP favoring the tournament directors at the expense of the dues-paying members. Get the feeling the ATP miscalculated badly on this one.
As for the notion that more singles players might be inclined to play doubles, we tossed this one to Andy Roddick, and here's his response: "I don't think I'll play more, you know. I don't -- I just don't think I will. My focus is singles. And, you know, if I need the extra practice, I'll go out on a practice court. I play sometimes for fun, but I don't think, you know, that playing -- whatever they're playing, half sets and no switchovers and, you know, five-second shot clock or something, I don't think I'm going to play any more doubles." We also point out that, Rafael Nadal, the player the ATP trotted out to provide a spoon-fed soundbite supporting the changes, pulled out of doubles last week in Montreal after reaching the quarters in singles, a trend that will surely continue.
Anyway, Kevin raises a fair point. Most recreational hacks play doubles, not singles. You'd think these folks would like to watch how the experts do it. No one is arguing that something needs to be done to "enhance" doubles. But the view here is that the problem is marketing, not an inherently flawed product. If you agree, you can show your support during the U.S. Open. If the Bryans, Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, etc., play before significant crowds it would send a strong message to the ATP.
This Monica Seles hiatus has a "will Pete Sampras retire, or won't he?" feel to it. I know you'll say athletes should have the right to call it quits on their terms, but that's PC fluff. I am curious as to what your real thoughts are about issues like this? -- Jon Berg, Seattle
Far as we're concerned, Seles pretty much gets a pass on anything this side of grand theft auto. But even if we are talking about Jill Q. Player, I fail to see the PC fluff. By wavering about her retirement, Seles is hurting ... whom exactly? Unlike a player in a team sport perpetually on the IR, she's not taking someone's job. There's no guaranteed contract hamstringing the club's payroll or affecting its draft order. Fans are disappointed but surely no less so than if she just walked away. (Yes, by staying "active" Seles is surely remaining on various endorsement payrolls. But who's going to begrudge her that?)
I think I was somewhat critical of Sampras' retirement because of the clumsy handling. The same week his people were whispering that he hadn't touched a racket in months, tournaments were announcing that Sampras had committed to play. Then, invariably, the camp would prepare a statement, and he'd withdraw. This went on for an entire year and it was, frankly, beneath him.
In Seles' case, there's no misdirection or disingenuous announcement. She clearly wants to return. It's a question of whether her body will cooperate.
What is the difference between Nikolay Davydenko, Radek Stepanek and Dominik Hrbaty? About every other week one of them makes a quarterfinal and then disappears. And of course, their matches never get a nanosecond of airtime. Am I missing something? -- Alvar Svensson, Tallmadge, Ohio
I guess we finally let you in on the secret. It's the same person. Sometimes he uses the alias "Jiri Novak," as well. Tax purposes and all.
Entry, Race and now the U.S. Open Series rankings ... When will the nonsense stop? -- Chuck Keenum, Los Angeles
Agree. The USTA has a swell concept -- let's use our television leverage to package an event with a consistent television platform, creating build-up to the Open. Why can't they leave it at that instead of hubristically gilding the lily and turning it into a logo-a-thon -- replete with its own meaningless ranking system and a bonus pool that hasn't lured a single marquis player? Imagine a casual fan hearing about the Rogers Cup ATP Masters Event that's part of the U.S. Open Series. Huh?
I wish the tennis administrators would see e-mails like this and -- and Chuck is hardly the only person who's raised this issue -- and realize how maddeningly confusing and petty this land grab appears to the average fan.
Does anyone get sick of Roger Federer? I often find his remarks obnoxious and seemingly out of character. Is he rude and obnoxious? By the way, I realize you won't agree with me because no one is ever willing to see that side of him, but I thought I would take a shot. -- Rach, Sydney, Australia
I won't agree with you, but I'll publish your question. If Federer is rude and obnoxious, Gael Monfils is old and fat. This same sentiment was expressed by a few of you during the French Open. Pressed for specifics, it seems that Federer -- who'd lost four matches so far all year -- had the unmitigated arrogance to proclaim that while he respected everyone, he feared no one. What am I missing here?
Just received my tickets to the upcoming U.S. Open. The grounds pass is up three dollars and the convenience charge of $6.50, plus the $3.05 order processing fee per ticket is a nice touch. Will the price of a burger be going up, as well? If the USTA continues at this rate the typical tennis fan will be left watching it on TV. -- Greg, Spartanburg, S.C.
But think of all the logos your money is helping to underwrite.
Federer's winning percentage is over 93 percent, including Davis Cup matches since the start of 2004. How does that compare to the greatest two-year runs by any other tennis player? Please have someone get on this; I can't take hearing about Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps anymore! -- Jon Rapkin, Wellington, Fla.
Greg Sharko, tennis' Stephen Hawking, informs us: The last player to post .900 or better in back-to-back years was Ivan Lendl in '86 (74-6, .925) and '87 (74-7, .914). If Federer keeps up this pace, he may have the highest winning percentage in back-to-back years. I'm with you on Tiger and Lance, but who's Phelps? Jaycee? Ken? Digger? Surely not Michael.
In the recent San Diego tournament, why did the announcers keep saying Feng Shui instead of Shuai Peng? -- Ben, Los Angeles
Are you sure they weren't discussing the arrangement of the umpire's chair relative to the players' seats? My guess is they were saying "Peng Shuai." Check this out.
By the way. Not sure where this came from -- Daily Tennis, maybe? -- but someone forwarded us this short article about the curious whereabouts of Chinese players:
"China's fast-rising players led by Top 40 contender Shuai Peng will end what has been a fractured tennis year early in order to complete their playing obligations in a national Olympic-style event scheduled for early October. The October competition ranks second behind the International Olympic Games in sporting importance to the world's most populous nation. Peng is the prize player for a squad from the city of Tianjin, and there's no getting around the commitment. The WTA Guangzhou event the week after Beijing is expected to be lacking in local players, a particularly odd situation in a country where the political elite have taken to tennis as the Japanese did decades ago when golf was introduced there. Taiwan-born, Florida-based coach Alan Ma, guides Peng on the WTA tour when not running his International Tennis Academy in Delray Beach, Florida, home of a smaller men's ATP event. The coach cannot discount the importance the quadrennial Chinese Olympics play in national sporting life. 'These decisions affect two billion people,' he said of a schedule drawn up several years ago which unfortunately requires preliminary rounds in March, singles events in June and team events in October. 'The next event won't be until 2009,' he assures. 'Think about it, no Chinese players in a Chinese tournament,' said Ma, who also works with Peng at her training base in Florida."
So there's this guy who plays on the ATP tour. A very defensive-minded player who wins by getting a lot of balls back and waiting for the unforced errors of his more offensive-minded opponents. This guy has a trademark fist pump, screams a lot, acts pretty rude towards his opponents by cheering their mistakes and double faults and treats every victory as if he had just discovered the cure for AIDS or world hunger. I actually thought this was Lleyton Hewitt with a dark tan and some biceps, but I realize he goes by the name of Rafael Nadal. Funny, though, if it were Hewitt people would actually be admitting how obnoxious he is. -- Nora Eisen, Rosario
When Nadal sues the tour, makes homophobic and racially-tinged remarks during matches, and acts as though every off-court demand on his time is akin to a request for his left kidney, I would be more inclined to agree. But a few of you have taken issue with Nadal's emoting, so I'll post this as you can continue the discourse, if you like, on message boards, etc.
This goes to the discussion a few weeks ago about player-fan interactions. I took my eight-year-old son to the Mercedes-Benz cup in L.A. He had his oversized tennis ball ready for autographs, and he experienced both ends of the "cool player" spectrum -- Bob Bryan, James Blake and Dominic Hrbaty graciously signed his ball -- A WELL KNOWN VETERAN, on the other hand, surrounded by body guards passed by my son and watched as his body guard shoved my son out of the way. I followed the entourage to the entrance of the players' lounge to speak with this guard, and A WELL KNOWN VETERAN stood just inside the door and heard my conversation with the guard. He looked at my son and still didn't sign the ball. By the way, it was "Kids Day" and A WELL KNOWN VETERAN had just won his match. He lost the next round -- I like to think it was cosmic justice. -- Michael Patterson, Burbank
Thanks. My instincts are to name -- and thus publicly shame -- the misanthrope player. But without getting his side of the story, or at least independent corroboration, it's not really fair.
More memorable tennis points from recent memory:
Ian, Key Biscayne, Fla.: You have to include the dramatic Sampras-Agassi 22-stroke rally with Agassi serving at set point against him at 4-5 in the first set of the '95 U.S. Open final. After pulling each other farther and farther off the court, Sampras nailed a backhand (people forget his backhand was good back then) that Agassi couldn't reach. That point completely changed the match. Sampras said afterward: "It was probably one of the best points I've ever been a part of. We were both running each other around. That was a huge point."
That's a good one. If memory serves, it was the basis for an entire Nike commercial, replete with announcers falling asleep in the broadcast booth. (Remember those halcyon days, when Nike produced tennis ads?)
Eric Hacker, Denton, Texas: Regarding the best point/rally, you could pull several from the Martina Hingis/Jana Novotna semifinal at the '97 Lipton tournament. It looked more like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on grass than Hingis and Novotna on Florida's hard courts. Specifically, check out the point where Novotna virtually skis to a volley, wins the point and then curtsies to the camera nearest her stopping point.
Roberto Clarise, Beverly Hills, Calif. Well, not so much a question as it is an observation/correction. Under your "best shot" response you said Venus Williams' pass off of Hingis' overhead deserved mention. In all honesty, I think it was the opposite -- with Hingis hitting one of the worst overheads at the worst time. There were better shots during that match by both players than that pass. However, that overhead begs the question, what are the worst shots in tennis history?
Nice one. Did any of you catch Greg Rusedski missing that gimme putaway against Mario Ancic? I mean this was a floater so meek that any club player would have won the point 99 times out of 100. Rusedski got cute and dumped it in the net -- but went on to win the match so we don't feel too bad for him.
I suppose some of Novotna's ill-timed double-faults makes the list. Same for some of Serena Williams' ill-disguised, ill-conceived, ill-executed drop shots against Justine Henin-Hardenne in the '03 French semifinal. Others? Roddick's last service game against Joachim Johansson at the Open last year. I'll open this one up to you guys. ...
Just got home from attending the JP Morgan Chase Open at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., that Maria Sharapova pulled out of with injury. I understand players get injured and can't compete, but couldn't some of the top players stick around to sign autographs or pose for pictures with their fans? Or at least come on court and speak to the fans for a moment? There were so many disappointed people there with no one to be excited about. No Sharapova, no Williams sisters, no Lindsay Davenport, not even Kim Clijsters whose day match with Nadia Petrova, in my opinion, should have been rescheduled as the marquee match on Friday night. And then to have doubles scratched, as well ... I was with a person who was attending his first professional tennis tournament and said he would never go to another. -- Martin Lomeli, Long Beach, Calif.
Excellent point. This ought to be mandatory reading for tennis administrators and players. And, frankly, it is yet another reason why the ATP would do well to reconsider the doubles changes. Singles star pulls out with an injury? Well, that stinks, but here are some doubles matches. Plus the Bryans will hit serves to fans brave enough to return them. And anyone who doesn't get aced gets a prize. There are ways to salvage unfortunate situations. Saying, effectively, "Maria can't play. Sucks for you guys," doesn't grow the sport.
Please advise where I can get a DVD Copy of the '05 women's Wimbledon final between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport. -- Jill Smith, Bermuda
Can someone help a friendly Bermudan?
Some random jottings:
• It pains us to acknowledge the existence of the ATP "Race." But more than record, No. 2 Nadal entered Cincinnati with more race points than No. 3 Roddick and No. 4 Hewitt.
• More wacky stats: Heading into his first-round match against James Blake, Roger Federer was 1-4 for his career in Cincinnati.
• And another: So far this year, there have been six Masters Series and three Majors: Either Federer or Nadal has won all but one (the Australian Open).
• An observation after spending a few days in Cincinnati: Club pros would do well to start teaching that squash shot. Unlike, say, the "one-legged backhand" which looks cool but seldom wins points that defensive squash flick shot can be really effective.
• John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic, Aaron Krickstein, Guillermo Vilas, Anders Jarryd, Johan Kriek, Peter McNamara and Mansour Bahrami will be on hand this weekend for the LTU Champions trophy at the Sportime Club in Amagansett, Long Island. Check out this site for more info.
• Came across a copy of the Binghampton, N.Y. Challenge draw. Really a fascinating window into just how brutal a sport this is. Andre Murray won the thing, still more evidence he is the real deal, or at least will keep British tennis press busy after Tim Henman retires. But it was the other names that caught our eye. Brian Vahaly, a former top-50 player, lost in the first round to Rajeev Ram. Alex Bogomolov Jr. (a/k/a Mr. Ashley Harkleroad) won two matches before falling to Murray. Harel Levy, celebrating the anniversary of his run to the TMS Canada final, lost in the first round.
• What's up with the Pacific Life Open staying in Indian Wells? Read this article.
• Congratulations to Logan Anna Rosner. May this be the first of many Google hits.
• This week's recommendation: Francis X. Rocca's The Next Superpower?: The Rise of Europe and Its Challenge to the United States
• A Nethead writes: "The Netheads have a few half price U.S. Open tickets for the September 1st day session and the September 2nd day and night sessions. Folks can go to our Web site or e-mail [email protected] for more information. We are always looking for new Netheads, and yes we do pay for our tickets."
• Yevgeny (He who dies with the most toys wins) Kafelnikov took a wild card into the Russian Open golf tournament and finished 16 shots over.
Have a great week, everyone!
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