How Davenport did it, updates on Seles and Capriati

MAILBAG Jon Wertheim will answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag every Wednesday. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

First, Serena Williams wins the Australian Open out of shape and ranked No. 87 in the world. Then Venus wins Wimbledon ranked in the 20s after not getting past the quarters of a Grand Slam since she won Wimbledon two years before.

Now, Lindsay Davenport, who hasn't played in nearly a year and HAD A KID, comes off and wins a tournament, beating two top-10 players. What's next? Is Chris Evert entering Linz?
-- Robert, Washington, D.C.

There's a great Onion column here: "Reached at her retirement home in Ojai, Calif., Alice Marble remarked, "You know, I'm happy here at Turquoise Estates, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't check those WTA results and ask 'what if?' Those Williams sisters, them I couldn't handle. But against that Kuznetsova girl? I like my chances in that match. Besides, I didn't technically retire; I just took a hiatus. Again, I'm happy in my present life. But you never say never."

Lots of Davenport comeback questions this week, so let's start with her. (But before doing, I want to make clear that Robert was the one who put HAD A KID in all caps. I couldn't get away with that in my house.)

Anyway, the prevailing question seemed to be: Is the title she won last week testament to her skills? Or does it indict the rest of the WTA? This, of course, is a variation of the same question we get when Martina Navratilova plays top doubles in her mid-40s or the Williams sisters return from LaLa Land to win majors.

Two points: First, all props to Moms. But let's keep this in perspective. Davenport was a top-five player when she walked offstage. She's still in her early 30s and her game was never exactly predicated on youthful athleticism. She arrived in shape, earning the wrath of every new mom whose thighs are the widths of redwoods. (Robert wrote that line. Honest.)

Davenport plays a lower-level event, against players at the tail end of the grueling hard-court swing. She gets past Jelena Jankovic (good win!) and then outlasts notoriously pressure-susceptible Daniela Hantuchova in the final. Don't get me wrong: great story. And Davenport suddenly becomes an automatic contender in Australia. But it's not a Rick Ankiel-level comeback quite yet.

Second point: I think you must look at the quality of tennis when you make these assessments. Had Serena performed like a mid-80s-ranked player when she won Australia, it would've been one thing. But she was dyn-o-mite. (As was Venus at Wimbledon.) It's more a testament to their powers (and determination and ability to conjure great tennis with minimal preparation) than anything else.

Without having seen any of those Bali matches, we'll gave Davenport (and the WTA) the benefit of the doubt here. Our advice: Just enjoy the achievement and don't use this as a chance to rip the women's game. (If you're intent on doing that, spark up a DVD of the Chakvetadze-Kuznetsova U.S. Open semifinal!)

What ever happened to Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles, two ladies who, when they are at the top of their game, can beat just about anyone? I know Seles had an injury; USA Network said that she is quietly plotting a comeback. When did Capriati leave the game, and is it for good, and under what circumstances did she leave the game?
-- Terry Tyrpin, Schaumburg, Ill.

This might sound like crazy talk coupled with wishful thinking, but it wouldn't surprise me to see either back in 2008. As for Seles, a comeback is obviously a much longer shot, particularly given her age. But then again ... she never retired. She hits regularly with Nicole Vaidisova. My moles on the bayou tell me she looked sharp beating Navratilova in a New Orleans exhibition recently.

Meanwhile, Capriati has been outspoken about her desire to return. We heard that she underwent still another shoulder surgery last week and will return to rehab. Say this: If the tennis fates owe any players the chance to leave on their terms, you'd better believe J.C. and M.S. top the list.

I was looking at SI.com's list of all-time WTA singles titles and was floored to find that all the way up at No. 11 with 37 singles titles is a Ms. Helga Masthoff. How can it be that I've never heard of this person? I consider myself a more-than-casual fan, yet I swear I've never even seen that name before in the context of women's tennis. Ever heard of her? As a quiz, what can you tell us about her without a Google search? Here's a hint: apparently she has more singles titles than Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, both Williams sisters and Tracy Austin!
-- Joel Langellier, St. Charles, Ill.

Helga Masthoff actually is a 19-year-old intern at SI.com and, just to be cute, put her name on that list. She is soooooo embarrassed someone caught this prank. Oh wait, just to be sure, I popped Helga into reliable Wikipedia and, presto.

At the risk of sounding like Roger Federer when asked about Althea Gibson (cheap shot, I know) I'd be lying if I said I'd ever heard this name before. But facts are facts. Incidentally, reached at her home outside Essen, Germany, Masthoff remarked, "Those Williams sisters are something. But I admit, when I saw that Kuznetsova-Chakvetadze semifinal I started thinking about a comeback. You never say never...."

What has happened to Taylor Dent and Anastasia Myskina?
-- Alan Moon, Austin, Texas

Dent was in the house at the U.S. Open, working for U.S. Open TV. He hasn't retired but we hear the odds of him resuming his career are not good, unfortunately. Myskina showed up at the French Open and lost early but not before offering the most brutal self-assessment we've heard in a long time: "I'm moving like a big cow." At last check she was doing some sort of Russian "Ice-dancing with the Stars" show. (Seriously.)

The greatness of Federer's tennis skills have been beaten to death, but can you explain how he is able to know almost immediately that the next game is new balls? He starts walking to his chair to grab a new racket one game before new balls and -- I recognize you don't need to be a scientist to do 6+9+9+9 -- but still to do that when you are playing an intense match is quite amazing. If he is doing the math in his head while beating his opponent, he is even sharper than we think.
-- Adithya Rao, Atlanta

Let's just face it: the guy is perfect. Oh, no wait. ...

Jon, if you can name the president of the Swiss Federal Council off the top of your head, then you can chide Federer for his lack of worldliness.
-- Chris Davis, Boston

Pascal (The Couch) Couchepin. Who didn't know that? This is obviously a reference to Federer's ignorance of Althea Gibson. I wanted to drop this but the responses keep coming.

Sorry, guys, I'm not giving in on this one. To continue with Chris' analogy, I didn't know the president of the Swiss Federal Council. But I submit that it might be different if a) I often prided myself on knowing these things; b) I was in the same line of work as the figure in question; c) the same afternoon I was being asked the question, the guy was being honored right outside the room where my interview was taking place!

Isn't it true that Nikolay Davydenko and Novak Djokovic made comments about Federer making lucky shots during their matches? Why isn't this being brought out more by the media? Why is Serena too often the focus of such ridicule? Why aren't you discussing the postmatch antics of both Davydenko and Djokovic? You were quick to provide a treatise on Serena's comments, yet you were not at all aware of anything these "good guys" were saying about their losses with Federer. I find it very likely that you are totally a Serena hater and should really just admit rather than act as if you are trying to be objective.
-- James M., Boston

Quick story: I was speaking at a tennis club not long ago and was asked what is the most challenging part of covering tennis. On reflection, it is covering the Williams sisters. They are incredibly rich subjects for a thousands reasons, not least their refusal to conform to tennis convention. Their back story never stops taking unlikely twists. Dismiss them, and they often return with a vengeance and perform heroically. Extol them, and they often disappoint or disappear.

And on top of all that, there's the strong current of race. As a matter of ritual, you say something charitable and some idiot chides you for being an "apologist" or "a knee-jerk liberal." Say something negative and, naturally, your opinion must be rooted in bigotry.

Anyway, instead of framing the discussion in terms of "good guys" and "haters," let's look at this with a little context. Serena is a seven-time Grand champ. She is globally famous. She endorses multi-national companies. She is, by her own reckoning, not merely a tennis star but a star, star. It seems to me neither wrong nor hypocritical that the media would devote more attention to her unsporting remarks rather than those of D and D.

What's more, as we discussed previously, this was merely the most recent example in a chronic case of Serena's sore losing. If D and D whined about "all he needed to do was show up" and "I was 40-50 percent max" the previous times they lost to Federer, it would be different.

Let's however, let the reflect that James is absolutely right and that Davydenko did indeed -- bizarrely -- invoke "luck" as the main reason he lost to Federer. (Not so Djokovic, unless I'm missing something: This is direct from his postmatch press conference: "I cannot say that he is No. 1 player of the world because he's lucky (laughter). You know, that's a bit strange to say.")

Davydenko was lame and unsporting and simply wrong. Even before the D-Man's name was embroiled amid match-fixing allegations, the guy was, in the oxymoronic way, famously unpopular. Last week we got a taste why.

Did you see the size of the Ralph Lauren polo on the ball kids' shirts? And the players can't wear three strips along the side of their pants. Interesting.
-- Tommy, Boston

Sponsor an event rather than a player -- i.e. give money to an institution and not an private contractor -- and the rules change. Think Tommy raises a very good point here.

Sybille Bammer and Lindsay -- new doubles team for '08. I leave this to you, Jon, to get the ball rolling. Get crackin'. Jagger needs a playmate.
-- Ted M., Baltimore

Nice. Anyone know if Tina Bammer is a good sharer? Peanut allergies, maybe?

What happened between Jamie Murray and Eric Butorac? They haven't been playing together in the last few weeks, even though they participate in the same tournaments?
-- Anna, Springfield, Mass.

For lack of a better word, Murray "big-timed" Butorac and will start playing with Mahesh Bhupathi. "Boot" is one of the nicer stories in tennis this year. The dude played Division III tennis (in Minnesota no less!) and suddenly finds himself a creditable player on the ATP Tour. I don't necessary blame Murray: The pair hooked up by a fluke, it's not as though he violated a sacred bond by seeking another partner. But one hopes Butorac fares well after the divorce.

Is it me, or is Carlos Moya's right arm bigger than his left arm?
-- Alex D., Somerville, Mass.

Sure it wasn't the tattoo?

The Novak-Radek Stepanek match was a doozy! Can you check with "the Shark" to find out how many match score lines in the Open Era have five 7s in them? (or four 7s and a number higher than seven in the fifth set if they played on)? I can't imagine there being more than a handful.
-- Paul Kumar, Springfield, Va.

Here's the Shark: "It was the first match at the U.S. Open with five 7s since the '79 U.S. Open second round, John Lloyd defeated Paul McNamee 5-7, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6."

Shots, miscellany

• With uncommon courtesy, Sam of London writes: "Hana Mandlikova's nationality is now Australian'? Ok, this confirms my theory that you know absolutely nothing about tennis pre-'95, and you'd better stop pretending that you did. Mandlikova became an Australian citizen in '87 after she married Jan Sedlak in July '86. It even caused a flap in the Aussie Fed Cup team at the time when some bottom-feeding native-born Aussies moaned about a foreigner taking their spot on the national team."

• Mucho, mucho, mucho of you noted that the voice of the Nasonex bee was none other than Antonio Banderas.

• For those of you who missed it, here's Justin Gimelstob on Leno.

• Miguel Punzalan of Manila, Philippines: "Just something to consider: If Federer wins the '08 Australian, he can tie Pete Sampras' Slam record in the French with No. 14. And then it gets interesting -- he can break that record in Wimbledon for the 15th Slam, break Bjorn Börg's record he shares with a sixth straight title, and finally hold the Grand Slam. I really think '08 would be Federer's best time to pursue history. By the way, he can also have a shot at a Golden Slam with the Olympics to be held in that same year."

• Weird moment for Hawkeye during this Vaidisova point.

• A few weeks ago, we discussed the fastest players in tennis. We neglected these two names: Phil Kohlscreiber and Gael Monfils.

• Sick of U.S. Open wraps? If not, one of you sent me this blog and I thought I was terrifically entertaining:

• This is funny but It is a joke! (Thanks to Mike of London for sending.)

• Michael of Urbana, Ill., writes: "FYI, there are actually two Federer features on Charlie Rose: the one from last week you mention, but also an older one from 9/13/04. The direct search link is here."

• Aruna Raghuraman of Wilton, Conn., writes: "Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf for Louis Vuitton -- something random I came across."

• Went to a cool art show last weekend. Check out gruntworks.org.

• China's two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Zheng Jie has been named a "Promoter of Gender Equality" as part of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's partnership with UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In this role she joins fellow Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars Venus Williams and Tatiana Golovin, who were previously named as Promoters of Gender Equality for the program in November '06 and May '07, respectively.

• Subhadeep Gan of Cincinnati sends us Davydenko and Vincent van Gogh. These are the two links that I found that were close: Davydenko and van Gogh.

Have a great week, everyone!

SI.com's Jon Wertheim has a new book, Running the Table.