Don't sell Nadal stock yet, Clijsters on road to recovery, more mail

A quick bag before the break. Happy Thanksgiving everyone...

I never thought I would say this (at least not in 2011) especially because I am a huge Rafa fan. But if we're playing "buy, sell, hold" I have to think seriously about selling Rafael Nadal. Thoughts, Jon?
-- Tom L., London

• I feel like I need to time-stamp this column. I'm writing this on Tuesday night. Nadal is a few hours removed from mustering three measly games against Roger Federer. This comes on the heels of some tired and uninspired tennis from Nadal, a year of futility against Novak Djokovic and the usual litany of injuries and ailments.

A year ago this week, I went to London to write an appreciation of Nadal, hailing a player who won three Grand Slams in 2010 and looked to challenge Federer's GOAT status. While his 2011 was hardly disastrous (how many players would sell their siblings into slavery to win a Slam and reach the final of two others?) there is an unmistakable sense of regression here.

But sell Nadal? No. As on Wall Street, it's too easy to get burned chasing returns in tennis, backing hot players and dumping cold ones. Nadal is the blue chip position; he will have a few rough quarters and may even lose market share. But he is a solid investment over the long haul. And if you look at his performance over the years, he ALWAYS drops off in the second half. (To wit: He has NEVER won the year-end championships.)

You're within your rights to express concern about his current yield. You're within your rights to worry about his infrastructure (i.e. his body; and yes, we're beating this investment analogy to an undignified death here.) But go long-term and don't dump your shares quite yet.

Maybe I've missed something along the way, but has Kim Clijsters quietly gone back into retirement? Last I heard she was injured, but that was a while ago.
-- Vicki, Waretown, N.J.

• Quoting from from Clijsters' Website.

Hello all,

I am currently preparing for the Diamond Games (on December 8 at the Antwerp Sportpaleis) and the new season. And things go very well so far. We've added a lot of volume to my base training and worked on power, endurance and speed training. In the meantime I started playing tennis 3 to 4 times each week, with Carl (Maes) and my new sparring partner Stefan Wauters. We have worked hard, but with a lot of pleasure and satisfaction.

The recent injuries are doing fine too: both the right foot as the stomach muscles respond very well to the efforts. I maintain some of my recovery exercises, especially for the abdominal muscles. The next couple of weeks my training sessions will include ever more tennis hours. The way things progress now, I feel that I am will be ready by the time of the Diamond Games! "On 1 January 2012 my season will start at the Brisbane tournament."

In the last couple of weeks I have been home a lot. The school has started again for Jada. With of course the minor ailments and colds that come with it. Every weekend I follow Brian and the basketball team he coaches. We have seen a lot relatives and I have been trying new recipes in the kitchen. For the first time I worked closely with my dietitian aiming at optimizing my diet during the build up to training sessions: which substances and in which quantities for longer endurance training, which for shorter ones... and I feel the difference! I keep on learning all the time ;-)

See you soon,

Kim

I wish I could tell you that I witnessed Wilt the Stilt adding to his 20,000 victories somewhere behind the stringing shed outside of Louis Armstrong, but that's not the case. Here's the story:

I was in New York for the 1990 U.S. Open. My 3 brothers and I got tickets during the first week of action. One of the afternoons we were there, all four of us were standing outside of one of the back courts, close to the concessions area, and trying to decide which match we should watch next. One of my brothers says, 'Wow, look how tall that guy is.' About 100 feet away we see this huge guy striding along by himself. Another one of my brothers says 'Hey! That's Wilt Chamberlain!' So, two of us run over there to say hello. We respectfully approach him, stick out our hands to shake, and say, 'Hey Wilt, what's up? How you doing?' He doesn't say a word, doesn't extend his hand, doesn't even nod his head. In fact never breaks his stride. He just keeps walking. It's like we were never there. Completely ignored. We still laugh about that story today. We wear it as a badge of honor -- getting shunned by the Big Dipper at the U.S. Open. We don't blame him for not wanting to be bothered.

It's one of those small but great little stories to tell. BTW, when we got back to our other two brothers and told them the details of what happened - one of them said 'I know how you would have gotten a response from him... just say 'Hey Bill Russell' or 'What's up Kareem?' Thoughts on the story??
-- Kevin Lynch, Eden Prairie, Minn.

• Great story. (For the late arriving crowd, Kevin is a former NBA player but, unapologetically, prefers tennis to basketball.) This reminds me, I have some left-over swag from 2011 that I am duty-bound to disown. Contest time. Give me your best "Encounters with a pro tennis player" stories. Winners get a Dunlop bag, et al.

What's wrong with this picture??!? Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is listed at 6-foot-2, as is Tony Parker. Federer is listed at 6-foot-1. Does Roger have lifts in his shoes or extra product in his hair?
-- Helen, Philadelphia

• Readers of a certain age and sensibility will recall how the movie character Fletch was "6-5, but 6-9 with the afro." I suspect Federer gets a couple extra inches, thanks to the handiwork of Frederic Fekkai.

Hi Jon, sorry if I missed something, but has anyone noticed rise of Janko Tipsarevic in the Top 10? He had some photo finish of the season.
-- Zeljko Kuzmanovic, Novi Sad, Serbia

• Right. He's like the Serbian Mardy Fish.

Who gets your vote for Most Talented Player Never to Become No. 1? My vote goes to the talented, athletic, powerful ... and ultimately frustrating Svetlana Kuznetsova.
-- Jason, Leander, Texas

• I like that. For as often as we discuss the best player never to have won a major (hereinafter BPNTHWAM) what about the BPNTHTTR (best player never to hold the top ranking)? Kuznetsova, a multiple Slam winner, ranks high. How about Mary Pierce, who peaked at No. 3?

Jon, this is the second time I'm asking this. Please honor it before the ATP season closes. Please write about the wonderful ATP commentary team of Robbie Koenig, Doug Adler, Nick Wilkinson, Sam and others. I'm sure there are many (like me) who are awestruck by their brilliance and what a dream-job they hold, indeed! For me, their commentary epitomizes tennis at its Best.
-- Sarathy, India

• Amen. Though check your "sent" folder, Sarathy. I cannot believe I received a previous email praising Robbie Koenig and I let it slip through the Mailbag filter.

We often hear commentators say that so and so has a live arm but never any explanation as to what exactly characterizes a ''live arm.'' I'd be curious to hear the opinion of a Tour player of what it is to have a ''live arm'' and who are the ones with exceptionally lively arms. Thanks
-- Max, Montreal

• Think Nuke LaLoosh in Bull Durham. Or Aroldis Chapman. Or Andy Roddick circa 2002. My strong suspicion is that we can blame/credit Brad Gilbert for visiting this term on us. A "live arm" is basically a strong thrower or server who, unencumbered by age, can simply chuck lasers without thinking about stretching or warming up or thinking much about it.

Thoughts on Maryland dumping men's tennis? Heard it may be a done deal.
-- Anthony, via Twitter

• You're the Maryland athletic director. You are facing a budget crisis (or a Title IX crisis), and may need to cut a program. Whereas other programs accommodate in-state students -- which is to say, the scion of taxpayers -- this is the make-up of the men's tennis roster.

Your decision just got a lot easier. I can't figure out why so many college coaches recruit heavily outside the U.S. Maryland, we hasten to add, isn't the only culprit here. We're all for internationalization and I realize there's pressure to win. But when seven of the ten players on the roster are from outside the United States, at a minimum, you are contravening the spirit of the law, if not the letter. You are imperiling the program. You are helping to imperil junior tennis. ("Hell, if my odds of a scholarship are almost nil because I'm competing for a spot against a 23-year-old Slovak who's already winning ATP points, I may as well try a different sport.")

I want to be clear: I'm not proposing a ban on colleges recruiting internationally. But just as European basketball teams limit the number of Americans on the roster -- which is why not every NBA player will be playing during the lockout -- college tennis leaders need to establish a policy here.

Andre Agassi is definitely not a racist, but that doesn't mean he always makes the right decisions. Black face is not appropriate in this day and age, even on Halloween. Unforced error. Most people would not even consider doing this for Halloween. Would you tape your eyes back and dress up like Yao Ming? Come on!
-- Patrick Preston, Chicago, Ill.

• If there's one person who doesn't a need a defense versus charges of racism, it's probably Agassi. But here's my take: It was a regrettable costume, an unforced error as Patrick puts it. I'd submit, however, that there's a difference between dressing up in generic "black face," and dressing up as a specific character -- in this case, Mr. T. -- who happens to be African-American. Next year, maybe he simply stands at the door, holding a digital camera and passing out miniature Three Musketeers bars.