Roger Federer is nearly unstoppable on grass -- he has won four straight Wimbledon titles. Bob Martin/SI

Regarding Sampras-Federer at Wimbledon, it depends which Wimbledon you mean. I'd give Sampras the edge on the fast grass of his day, and Federer the edge on the slower grass of today.
-- John B., Chicago

Good point. And shame on me for not having mentioned it. Talk to the players and between the heavier balls and the slower court they'll tell you that Wimbledon is a far different event than it was even five years ago. Yes, this answer is a convenient copout, but I also think it's accurate: Sampras on the glazed courts of Wimbledon; Federer on the meadow-like surface.

In your July 19 Mailbag you make an interesting point that tennis needs it own movie the likes of Caddyshack or Slapshot. I would agree, but I'd go a step further. What the sport needs is a comprehensive video game. Tennis games have done well, and sell well (i.e. Topspin, Virtua Tennis). What they're always missing is the players/tournaments.
-- Steve, Binghamton, N.Y.

I'm totally out of my depth here. The only tennis video game I know is the one in the Delta terminal of the Indianapolis Airport that pits the likes of Yevgeny Kafelnikov against Thomas Enqvist.

I enjoy watching Max Mirnyi's classic serve-and-volley style, and his doubles game is quite impressive. He made a nice run at Wimbledon this year, which was great to see. Given the style of his game and his past results on clay, I am trying to understand why he spent the entire summer hard-court season thus far playing the small clay-court tournaments.
-- David, Chicago

Excellent question. It's madness. In Mirnyi's defense, I'm sure he'd rather be close to home and, even with a base in Brooklyn or Florida, doesn't relish spending eight or nine straight weeks in North America. But really, the U.S. Open Series gets diluted when there are all these alternative events.

Long as we're here, an open plea to the good folks in White Plains: The U.S. Open Series is a swell idea and, while it's not exactly revolutionary, you're to be commended for pulling it off. But can you please stop the madness with this "bonus money" and "series standings"? There's not a single player of consequence who is changing his or her schedule because of the bonus money. (Take a look at the fields of the hard-courts events and compare them to five years ago.) This money is a boon to Nicolas Kiefer types but couldn't matter less to Federer or Nadal or Justine Henin-Hardenne. There's zero return on this investment. And the last thing tennis needs is another set of rankings. Take a well-deserved bow for making the Series a reality. But there's no need to gild the (Eli) lily.

Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ontario, won the singles title at the Granby Challenger tennis event Sunday with a 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3 win over German Tobias Clemens. Have you seen Frank play before? If so, any potential there?
-- Mark Randmaa, Toronto

We defer to Tom Tebbutt, who is to Canadian tennis what Anna Smashnova is to Tier IV finals.

"Dancevic made the Wimbledon junior quarters and won the doubles with Giovanni Lapentti in 2001 and then had a big result in Davis Cup, winning the fifth match against No. 44-ranked Flavio Saretta of Brazil in September '03. But he did not follow up with similar results as many Canadians thought he could. He has had a few minor injuries but has taken his game up a notch over the last six months or so. Working with Canadian Davis Cup captain Martin Laurendeau has helped him and, as well, he has matured on and off the court. He turns 22 next month and has a solid all-around game without a huge weapon. A good athlete, he has top 50 potential."