Jim Pierce is barred from the WTA Tour because of his abusive
behavior, but since December he has been working with Vince
Spadea, who credits Jim with helping him reach his first ATP
Tour final, in St. Polten, Austria, on May 23. "When I'm in town
[Boca Raton, Fla., where Spadea lives], he puts me through a
regimen of conditioning, stroke production, psychological
approach, things like that," Spadea says of Pierce. "For four
years I hadn't been in the top 50. Now I've broken through [to
Number 49]." Mary has no problem with the arrangement, and on
those occasions when the men's and women's tours cross paths,
the WTA doesn't mind either—so long as Jim is on site only when
Spadea is playing or practicing....
Marcelo Rios may be the favorite at the French, but he's no
French favorite: For a record-tying third year in a row he has
been awarded the Prix Citron by the Gallic media for having the
sport's sourest disposition....
American tennis lost 3.1 million recreational players between
1992 and '96, but the USTA has a bold plan to stanch the
bleeding: bounty hunting. It has earmarked more than $1 million
(from a new five-year, $50 million initiative) to pay
instructors $2 for each new pupil they sign up for one of two
grassroots programs....
How much is this French Open mere prelude to the World Cup? Jan
Siemerink says that if the Dutch soccer team were to play a Cup
match that conflicted with a tennis match of his, he'd take a
forfeit.
Issue date: June 8, 1998
|
|
|
