Mailbag (cont.)

Serena Williams is ranked No. 2 despite winning three of the last four majors.

Simon Bruty/SI

Jon Wertheim's Mailbag

Jon Wertheim will answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag every Wednesday.

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Do you think Serena should be fined for mocking the WTA rankings? If she is confused about her ranking, perhaps Federer could explain to her that he also holds three Slams but shows up at other events and actually plays. Serena shows up and does just enough to avoid hefty fines. She has the correct ranking. I could do my best work, too, if I only acted like I cared for eight weeks a year.
-- B. Rogers, Zurich, Switzerland

• Yes, the WTA should fine her. Big bucks. How dare she voice an independent opinion, one that might run counter to the corporate agenda? Look, I think we all agree it would be ideal if Serena could summon her best every event. But, again, give me a Grand Slam champ who might not go all out in Madrid or Montreal over the Tier 1 queens who gag at majors.

Interesting how some coaches seem to quietly bring out the best in their players. I, for one, am hoping that Larry Stefanki and Roddick will develop a long, solid relationship. Stefanki has done what no one else has: help Roddick put all the pieces together. Agree?
-- Jennifer J Christoffersen, Marietta, Ga.

• Big credit to Stefanki. He might not have Jimmy Connors' pedigree as a player, but under his tutelage, Roddick has made demonstrable gains.

You are Andy Roddick. You are thinking to yourself which of the following? A) My serve isn't so bad after all and I came within a game of toppling the mighty Roger Federer at Wimbledon. B) I played about as well as I can play and I still couldn't topple the mighty Roger Federer at Wimbledon.
-- Ayaz Abdulla, Karachi, Pakistan

• Both.

Kind of curious: The main sponsor of the upcoming Hamburg tournament is bet-at-home. Did this fall under the ATP radar screen? Seems like they would want to distance themselves from anything to do with that sort of stuff.
-- Nick, Hamden, Conn.

• And in other news, creatine is sponsoring MLB's home run derby. Morality and economic conditions can move in lockstep. It's a lot harder to take principled stances when the coffers are running low. (How about those Washington Post salons?) By the way, Hamburg may need to find a different sponsor.

So would we rather have a final set end 16-14 in games or 16-14 in a fifth-set tiebreaker?
-- Dominic Ciafardini, Hong Kong

• The lack of a tiebreaker in the fifth doesn't bother me. But I will use this opportunity to lobby for best of three the first week of majors, best of five the second week.

Shots, miscellany

• Back to the Federer/Brüno discussion, if you thought fashion was irrelevant, check out this e-mail from an anonymous source: "All this dabbling in fashion is not a complete waste of time. America's lone hope for a future Slam winner, Madison Keys, was drawn to the sport by the dress Venus Williams was wearing. Her parents said she could only have it if she played tennis, and here we are. Keys sat out the Euro Slams with literal growing pains, so she should be even better once she settles. She's only 14, but she's already 5-foot-10, and Chris Evert says she's as physically strong as Jennifer Capriati was at that age, with a bigger serve (already 115 mph) and bigger forehand than Jen at 14."

• Michael Lewis of Ormond Beach, Fla.: "Do you realize that this was Roddick's second 80-plus game match of his career? The 2003 Australian Open match against Younes El Aynaoui lasted 83 games. Think, at that time, he thought he'd ever play a longer one?"

• As mentioned above, sad news from the tennis world.

• Very good point by my colleague Selena Roberts.

• A plug for Jacqui Robbins' kids book Two of a Kind.

• This week's unsolicited book recommendation: Grant Wahl's The Beckham Experiment.

• Big fan of Jason Whitlock's (he actually started out covering my high school for my hometown newspaper in Indiana) but this column ... well, here's a brief excerpt: "I'm only knocking Serena's back pack because it's preventing her from reaching her full potential as an athletic icon. I am not fundamentally opposed to junk in the trunk, although my preference is a stuffed onion over an oozing pumpkin. (A stuffed onion is a booty so round and tight that it brings tears to your eyes)."

• World Team Tennis co-founder Billie Jean King is presenting an award at a WTT event Wednesday in Philadelphia.

• Stephen Males of Devonshire, Bermuda: "The last three [Wimbledon] women's finals have combined for 60 games (over six sets) and lasted a total of four hours and 48 minutes. The last three men's finals have combined for 191 games (over 15 sets) and lasted a total of 12 hours 49 minutes. Are ticket prices for the men's and women's finals the same?"

• Relieved to hear that John Feinstein is not only doing better after heart bypass surgery but is already back to writing to columns. Just wish they weren't about the quasi-sport of golf.

• Gary of Chicago: "About thought No. 31 from Wimbledon -- the slow motion wave isn't new. It has, for example, been done at Michigan Stadium for years now, along with the fast wave and the split wave. Bad quality footage of the slow wave here."

• Tara of Columbia, Md., has long-lost siblings: Drew Barrymore and Aggie Radawanska.

Have a great week, everyone!

To order a copy of Jon Wertheim's new book, Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played, click here.