Given that Maria Sharapova is reaching her top form at age 19, we may see her in this pose much more often in the coming years. AP

In explaining Tomas Berdych's recent successes over Nadal, why did you neglect to mention the important detail that he stands 6-foot-4 and is relatively unfazed by Nadal's high, bouncing top-spin shots because of his height, and can basically flatten them out without much trouble?
-- Ernie M., Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Good point. I remember that match from Toronto: Nadal's balls would have been shoulder high (and then some) backhands against most players, but they were right in Berdych's wheelhouse. He could flatten out the topspin and drill it down the line to Nadal's backhand.

On a related note, I was speaking with a former pro a few weeks ago and he wonders whether we're not due for another wave of taller stars. Remember a few years back, the Chicken Littles claimed that height and brute force (see: Philippoussis, Mark) weren't going to be a prerequisite for success.

Obviously that didn't happen. In fact, at one point the cumulative height of the top 10 women eclipsed that of the top 10 men. (Seeing Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters side by side was a sort of metaphor.) The former player asserts that the best way to beat Federer, Nadal, Nalbandian, et al., is to hit through them, a la Berdych or potentially Gael Monfils. He therefore thinks the pendulum will swing back and we'll see a wave of Gullivers hitting the snot out of the ball.

Would it be wrong to term Sharapova a two-Slam wonder? Let's face it, her U.S. Open win was a case of her being at the peak of her usual semifinal form while all of the top women's players who have routinely toyed with her in semis of Slams were conspicuously out of form, injured or exhausted from the lead-up. Great relief for the sponsors and TV ratings, one would think, no?
-- Nick Rhodes, Trenton, N.J.

A two-Slam wonder? Maybe for her teen years. After that, I think there are many, many more in her future. Any player who has "usual semifinal form" is giving herself an awfully good to chance to win. Never mind potent strokes; with the possible exception of JH-H, Sharapova competes better than any other player. That alone can be good for a few more Big Prizes. Given that Sharapova is markedly -- a decade in some cases -- younger than her rivals, you have to think there's a lot more gold out there for her.

I'm sure many readers will find this blasphemous, but journalists and current players always talk about the Sampras-Courier-Agassi-Chang era of dominance in the sport. Perhaps I am forgetting, but how much a force was Michael Chang in the midst of all of this? I liked his game, and he was a tenacious fighter and has 30-something titles, but only one Slam and seven Masters series events. Why is it that Chang gets to share credit with the other three, who were far more accomplished?
-- Anand Ramaswamy, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Blasphemy! No, I don't think anyone is claiming that Chang was the equal of Courier, much less Sampras and Agassi. But I think he belongs as a crucial member of the axis. He won a Slam (and was the first of the bunch to do so), he made the finals of two other majors, he got to No. 2 in the rankings, he won more than a dozen other titles. All while standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 150 or so.

It's funny to think abut Chang's timing and how quickly the landscape has changed. Chang was an afterthought during the reign of Sampras, Agassi and Courier. If he were on the scene today, he would be hailed as the savior of American tennis.

I know the ATP's round-robin rules were just announced, but can this be right? "In the event of all three players [of a round-robin group] winning one group game [each, meaning tied 1-1 at the end of the round], the quarterfinalist will be decided by number of sets won and the number of games won, an ATP spokesman told Reuters." The number of games won, not the fewest number of games allowed? So the guy who wins 6-1, 6-1 will lose the tiebreaker to the guy who won 7-6, 7-6? Or 6-1, 1-6, 6-1?
-- Megan, Indianapolis

Good question. Here's Greg Sharko: "It is the highest percentage of sets won; then the highest percentage of games won -- same as the Tennis Masters Cup. So it's not the number won but the percentage won."

Oh, I'm so confused! Is the Tom Perrotta who wrote the article you linked to the same Tom Perrotta who wrote the book Little Children?
-- Joan, Medford, Mass.

Two Tom Perrottas, both great guys. One is New York-based and writes for the New York Journal and The Sun. The other is the author of Little Children (and my English professor when I was a freshman in college). By the way, if you liked Little Children, check out The Wishbones.

Wouldn't "Euro-ppoussis" be a better nickname for Joachim Johannson than "Euro-Roddick?" His game certainly bears more resemblance to the Scud than to A-Rod.
-- Rob, Chuncheon, South Korea

Not bad. And am I the only one who can't hear Johansson's name without thinking of JoJo Johansson, the lovable lug in Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons?

WTHIGOW Elena Bovina?
-- Johnny Ballgame, Atlanta

The WTA Web site tells all. Bovina has been injured for most of the past two years. But she played Moscow last month, so let's hope that's a sign she's healthy again.

What's the controversy they keep alluding to on the Tennis Channel regarding the Feliciano Lopez-Robby Ginepri first-rounder in Madrid?
-- Jim, St. Petersburg, Fla.

My suspicion is that it had to do with hogging the exfoliates in the locker room. Seriously, if any European readers have insight, fire away.

Shots, Miscellany

• Give it up for Whitney Taney, who went 159-0 (!) for her high school career in Minnesota.

• Have an extra $25 million lying around? Ivan Lendl's 40,000-square-foot home in Litchfield County, Conn., is on the market.

• Having won her first tournament, Vania King took the necessary step of starting her own Web site.

• Still confused about the ATP's round-robin format? Read this.

• Ilene Staff of Hartford, Conn., deserves a prize for noting that the combined ATP points shared by Nadal, Roddick and Andy Murray equals Federer's total.

• Paul Annacone is taking a position with the LTA, and the USTA will continue to try to fill the post vacated by Eliot Teltscher.

• Thanks to Sergio Rabago of Mexico City for sending this sad story about Houston's West Side tennis club.

• Huan Hsu of Washington sent us this link. Who knew Marion Barry played tennis?

• This week's book recommendation: Jack McCallum's Seven Seconds or Less.

• I'll serve up this week's Long Lost Siblings. Just saw Spanglish, and the most memorable part of this otherwise forgettable movie was the eerie likeness between Téa Leoni and Sharapova in about 15 years. Check it out.

Have a good week, everyone!