Guessing game

Will Stevenson win a title before Kournikova?

Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim will answer your tennis questions every Monday. Click here to send a question.

After surviving a quartet of match points against Paradorn Srichaphan earlier in the tournament, Lleyton Hewitt won San Jose, beating Andre Agassi in a third-set tiebreak in the final. ... Despite failing to win his 50th career title, Agassi has to be pleased with his play in his first event since January. Plenty have been whispering that he's on his last legs, but he looked no worse for wear after tuning Andy Roddick in the semis. ... Telling confession by Roddick after the match: "Even if I had my best, I don't think I would have beaten Andre today." ... Jenny, I got your number: Serena Williams won her first title of the year in Scottsdale, beating Jennifer Capriati in a riveting final. ... The winsome Fabrice Santoro won his first title of the year, taking the upset-laden Dubai event. ... In a move that has even those close to him shaking their heads, Pete Sampras dispatched Tom Gullikson as his coach and replaced him with Jose Higueras. A reasonable inference one could draw: Sampras has hardly given up hope of winning the French Open. ... If you consider yourself a self-respecting tennis fan, you'll go to the ATP Web site and purchase a copy of Deuce tennis annual.

Onward ...

Between Anna Kournikova and Alexandra Stevenson, who do you think stands a better chance of winning a title this year?
—J.P. Hormillosa, New York

It might be the latter. Honest. Kournikova is, far and away, the superior player, but this burden she bears of never having won a tournament is getting heavier than Matthew Perry. In what is clearly an attempt to finally win a singles trophy, Kournikova has entered a series of smaller tournaments this year. So far, nada. Last week's defeat in Acapulco (while most credible players were in Scottsdale) was to Katerina Srebotnik, a decent attacking player, but one whom Kournikova should beat easily.

As we discussed last week, Stevenson has made significant strides in her game. Over the weekend in Memphis she came within a point of winning her first title, falling to Lisa Raymond in the final. No one is divining her a top-10 player, but she performs well on fast courts and I could see her taking, say, a Wimbledon tuneup.

Does anybody know the real reason behind the Lleyton Hewitt-Darren Cahill split? Are Hewitt's parents as overbearing as suggested?
—Jennifer, Tempe, Ariz.

To Cahill's credit, he's been amazingly loyal. Even though he got what would seem to be a carpaccio-raw deal -- taking a player to No. 1 and then being dumped unceremoniously weeks later -- he ain't talking. (So Australian!) I'm told that the dispute was, in the end, more about control than money. One issue: The Hewitts allegedly were opposed to Cahill's desire to bring his wife and kids on the road. But even before the U.S. Open, Cahill was barely on speaking terms with père and mère Hewitt. Also, supposedly he and Lleyton had some fight on the practice court in Indianapolis that resulted in Lleyton's firing a ball at his coach. The parents have gotten some bad press, particularly in Australia, but I don't think they're necessarily overbearing so much as they're concerned about pruning distractions from their son's life.

James Blake has looked very, very good lately and seems capable of beating just about anybody when he's in form. I would love to see him make the top 20 within the year. Any prognostications on how far he can take it? How would you characterize his play? And what do you think is his biggest weapon and his biggest weakness? (Bonus question: What free advice would you give Max Mirnyi?)
—Phil, Philadelphia

I'll come clean and admit that I was dead wrong about Blake. Less than a year ago he was outside the top 200, had never won a Grand Slam singles match and looked to be a more sedate version of Justin Gimelstob -- that is, a nice American kid who would get a supersized serving of wild cards but lacked the game to make much of a dent. Since Wimbledon, however, Blake has been among the hotter players on tour. This year alone he has beaten Alex Corretja, Tommy Haas and Xavier Malisse, is up to No. 28 in the Champions Race, and suddenly has become the ATP's flavor of the month. Good for him.

How far can he take it? I don't think the top 20 is unreasonable. Blake's added some juice to his serve, he's a good athlete and his play at the net is vastly improved. He still needs to play better on big points. And, in that Todd Martin sort of way, one fears that he is almost too grounded and rational to be a future champ. But no question, he's a player to watch.

As far as the Beast, I'd tell him to work on his returns.

First of all, what was with the Modigliani reference last week? You lose a bet? What do you think of the Sergio García-Martina Hingis matchup? Which leads into: What tennis players are the best golfers, and vice versa?
—Bill Hall, Virginia Beach, Va.

A few of you gave me grief for the Modigliani reference. In a rare return of Long Lost Siblings, check this out:

LONG LOST SIBLINGS? A Myskina A Modigliani

As for golfers who play tennis, even before his vested interest in the women's game, García was a big fan of the sport. Tiger Woods, I believe, is a tennis fan. And I vaguely recall from my childhood that Jack Nicklaus once shilled for the exorbitantly priced Prince Boron.

There are a number of ATP players who take their golf games fairly seriously. Scott Draper supposedly is the best of the lot. Tim Henman, Hewitt, Chris Woodruff, Todd Woodbridge, Wayne Ferreira and Yevgeny Kafelnikov can all break 80 with regularity. Aside from Pam Shriver, who's closing in on a scratch handicap, I know of no female players who golf seriously.

Everyone remembers John McEnroe's weird service motion, but he had (and still has) one of the most unorthodox forehands in professional tennis -- hardly any bend of the elbow at all. Your list of the five most unusual forehand groundstrokes in the game?
—Greg Mattson, Richmond, British Columbia

Off the top of my head:

1. Amy Frazier: Speaking of "hardly any bend of the elbow."

2. Anke Huber: Her stroke looked like Dan Quisenberry's submarine pitch.

3. Alberto Berasategui: Such an extreme grip that he hits both forehands and backhands with the same side of the racket.

4. Santoro: The only male outside the Boys' 14s to use the forehand slice so effectively.

5. Conchita Martinez: We hear that she's still perfecting the topspin overhead.

Just read your comment about tennis' greatest accomplishment: Steffi Graf winning each of the Slams a minimum four times (could easily have been five or six, I reckon). Made me think of something you said a few weeks back about Martina Navratilova seemingly ungraciously saying Graf had now reduced herself to the status of a "groupie" on the men's tour. My question: Do you think Navratilova is still obsessed with Graf after all these years? The fact that more scribes, fans, experts, etc., appear to hold the latter's legacy in higher regard only seems to have ignited this again. I recall all those tournaments in the early 1990s where Navratilova was so concerned about getting to Graf that she pretty much lost it. Your views?
—Andrew Scannell, Melbourne, Australia

First, just to set the record straight, Navratilova made those remarks nearly two years ago. It's no secret that Navratilova was resentful of Graf when Steffi first came on the scene. But I certainly don't think she is still -- or, for that matter, ever was -- "obsessed." We can argue about who was the better player, but after what Graf achieved over the course of her career, I'm sure even Navratilova would concede that Steffi has a rightful place in any "best ever" discussion.

A brief digression: Together with Agassi for more than two years now, Graf has, if anything, proven to be the anti-groupie. She is utterly inconspicuous on tour, spending as little time as possible lingering in the players' lounge and loitering in the competitors' dining room. She politely declines interviews, won't be dragged into sponsor functions, and is so uncomfortable being photographed and shown on TV that she has been known to forgo the players' box and sit unobtrusively in press seating. (Talk about making the supreme sacrifice!) At a time when an increasing number of star athletes stay too long at the party and embarrass themselves trolling for glory, her carriage is particularly admirable.

I just wanted to answer the question about Andy Roddick's orange visor. After his victory over James Blake in Memphis, my brother asked Roddick for the visor as he was signing autographs. Roddick replied, "Sorry, this is my lucky hat." I wouldn't be surprised if the "lucky hat" continues to make appearances on tour. Tennis players can be terribly superstitious ...
—Matt Crockett, Florence, Ala.

Roddick wore that same hideous visor in San Jose. Maybe after his match against Agassi, he'll try an alternative form of headgear. Personally, I'd like to see him be the first player to compete in a coonskin cap. No offense to your brother, but I've always thought it a tad nervy for fans to ask athletes for articles of clothing. Sure, most can get the swag free, but still, when was the last time you heard an athlete say to someone, "Hey, dude, nice tie. Can I have it?"

Is Sandrine Testud more about talent or guts? Is she going to do the French thing (à la Natalie Tauziat and Julie Halard-Decugis) and play her best two years on tour and then retire?
—Monte Smith, Loveland, Ohio

That has become a "French thing," hasn't it? Testud is a competitive player who has all the shots, but I've never thought of her as particularly gutsy. In the past few months, she has beaten Venus Williams and Capriati (in fairness, both were at less than 100 percent), but I've always thought of Testud as a player who gives the top guns a workout but -- particularly in Slams -- almost never claims the big scalp. I haven't heard Testud (who turns 30 next month) explicitly say that this is her final year. Still, if she stays healthy and can replicate her form from last week, the notion of her eclipsing her best year-end ranking of No. 11 isn't unreasonable.

As someone who travels a lot, I'm curious to hear your top five restaurants in the U.S.
—Tom Jerome, Toronto

In no particular order: