A brief respite

Sports give us a timeout from politics

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

A quick disclaimer before we get started: We recognize the incongruity (absurdity, really) of talking about tennis when a large-scale war rages. A few days ago Miami Heat coach Pat Riley was asked how he felt about the weird juxtaposition of overseeing a team of millionaire athletes while 300,000 of their peers were in the Middle East, locked in combat. Riley referred to sports as the "Toy Department of Human Affairs." He's very right, but toys can serve a purpose. And with any luck, this week's 'Bag will be a small, small diversion from the events in Iraq and the drumbeat on the networks.

Notwithstanding the upset of top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt, who was suffering from a stomach "issue," it was a fairly formful first few days at Key Biscayne. ... How about a Player of the Week award to Robby Ginepri, who beat Alex Corretja and then James Blake? ... Some interesting early results: Deceptively strong win for Mark Philippoussis over Feliciano Lopez. ... Another typically tough loss for Mario Ancic, who fell to the resurgent Franco Squillari 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-4. ... On the women's side, Daniela Hantuchova lost early for the second straight big event. This upset came at the hands of Alicia Molik. Is anyone else concerned about Hantuchova's weight issues? For the past two years she's spoken incessantly about her need to put on some mass. Lately, she's looked even more waifish than usual. You sure hope (euphemism alert) she isn't falling prey to "external pressures" and the unfortunate ethos that a player's looks can matter more than her tennis. ... Varied results for the corps of young American women. Carly Gullickson (daughter of former Expos pitcher Bill, no relation to Tim and Tom Gullikson) won a round and then gave Chanda Rubin a nice match. ... Bethanie Mattek lost gamely to veteran Meilen Tu in a third-set breaker. ... Jamea Jackson competed well against Korea's Yoon Jeong Cho. ... Ally Baker, on the other hand, was served a double Lenders by Marion Bartoli of France. ...

Wayne Ferreira and the IMTA held their much-ballyhooed meeting last Tuesday in a corporate suite. Sources tell the 'Bag that more than 50 players signed up with the breakaway group, including Hewitt, Marat Safin and Roger Federer. There are also reports that Hewitt's stomach illness was not, in fact, caused by bad room service but rather by his reaction to Todd Woodbridge's speech. ... I'm watching all of these NCAA tournament promos and it occurs to me that what tennis desperately lacks (notwithstanding trifling details like more cohesiveness, better television contracts, more media coverage and a bigger roster of sponsors) is a theme song. Memo to USTA bigwig Arlen Kantarian: When you renegotiate the U.S. Open TV deal with CBS, make sure the network agrees to produce a catchy tune like One Shining Moment for our sport. ... Speaking of NCAA coverage, anyone else notice how prominently Meghann Shaughnessy is being featured in the new adidas ads? Nice work, Shaughnessy's agent, whoever you are. ... It's rumored that Larry Scott, the No. 2 at the ATP Tour, will be offered the WTA Tour CEO job this week. ... Would this be an inappropriate time to say that Martina Hingis is missed? ...

For fans in the heartland: The Miracle Match Foundation, which raises money to fight leukemia and other stem-cell-related diseases, will present an all-star charity event featuring John McEnroe and Jim Courier at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa on April 9. One night later the event moves to the SBC Center in San Antonio. ... Speaking of San Antonio, you can't go wrong ordering the BBQ brisket at the County Line. ... Courtesy of reader Bill Hill of Virginia Beach, Va.: "Holy s---! Tennis movies! They're actually making tennis movies!" ... Regarding Yevgeny Kafelnikov's head-fake on his plans to retire, Steve of Charlotte, N.C., was kind enough to report that lazeyka is the Russian equivalent of loophole -- "coming from the Russian word lazit meaning to crawl and dehrka meaning a hole." ... The WTA Tour handed out its awards for 2003 last week. Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano Pascual were named the Doubles Team of the Year; Kim Clijsters won the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award; Corina Morariu was given the Comeback Player of the Year award; and Svetlana Kuznetsova (The Kooz) of Russia won Newcomer of the Year. The awards were voted on by the players and the media.

"Hear the beat of the drum/Feel the wind in your face/It's more than a contest/It's more than race." It's the questions. There were tons this week. Sorry I can't get to them all.

What is the deal with American tennis fans? After reading about the audience's behavior during Emilie Loit's opening-round loss at Key Biscayne, I was appalled. Heckling a player because of her political beliefs seems to me the most un-American and unsportsmanlike thing one can do. Let's not forget that plenty of Americans agree with the antiwar stance the French have taken. Tennis is one of the few sports that brings together athletes from every nation on a week-in, week-out basis and I certainly hope that doesn't change.
—Marc, New York

As we've said before, tennis' international makeup is one of its great virtues -- so these issues echo louder than in other sports. Not surprisingly, a lot of questions this week pertained to the current geo-political mess. One of you wrote in hoping that the Americans collectively boycott the French Open. (To me, that's as patently ridiculous as the suggestion that we call the French Open the Freedom Open.) Another wondered if American players have been given a hard time by European colleagues. (Not that I've heard of.) Sports and politics can and frequently do intersect, often quite dramatically. But you'd like to think that fans have enough class and common sense to treat athletes with civility, even if they disagree with the policies of said athlete's government. This, of course, cuts both ways. Those Montreal hockey fans who booed The Star Spangled Banner the other night disgraced themselves. On the subject of French-bashing, here's some mandatory reading for next week.

Having said all that, I think the Miami fans may have received a bad rap. Two readers this week chastised said fans for booing Loit, but here's an account from the French Press Agency:

Emilie Loit was disappointed by her 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 first-round loss to Australia's Nicole Pratt here Wednesday at the WTA and ATP Masters Series event. But Loit had no complaints about her reception from Americans, who have heckled and booed French athletes at United States events because of their nation's political opposition to a U.S. military invasion of Iraq. "It was OK for the moment," Loit said, indicating that fans were polite and did not make any anti-French remarks during the match. "There's nothing I can do. I'm a player on tour and I have to try and play good tennis." Loit, who supports the French governments resistance to war "because I'm against violence," said she felt comfortable here but has some fears about her safety traveling the world on the WTA Tour.

Vince Spadea is highly respected by his peers as a dangerous opponent and for his amazing comeback after dropping into the 200s in the rankings. Why does he get no respect from the media, including you? You don't mention his name, yet he just made the semifinals at Indian Wells, has climbed to No. 11 in the Champions Race and is No. 43 in the entry rankings. It seems the rest of his game has caught up to his backhand, and with added experience his best years seem to be ahead of him.
—John Kelly, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

No love for Vince? We got him into Sports Illustrated last week. Picture and everything. But you raise a fair point. Spadea deserves an awful lot of credit for resuscitating his career. You'll recall that in 2000 he nearly set the unofficial record for consecutive losses. To get back to where he once resided is a testament to his character. And there's no shame in losing to Moya deep in the third set, as he did the other day in Miami.

In our (my) defense: First, Spadea isn't exactly -- how to put this? -- all-interview-team material. This doesn't, of course, diminish his achievement. But he doesn't make for a rollicking read. Second, Spadea is 28 so he's too young to be linked with the Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi-Michael Chang-Todd Martin-Courier axis and too old to be lumped with the Andy Roddick-Mardy Fish-Taylor Dent-Blake-Ginepri new guard.

What do you think of the fact that the so-called "one-surface wonder," Gustavo Kuerten, recently became the first non-American to play in the final of each of the hard-court Masters Series events? I'd think that would be enough of an accomplishment to at least rate a mention from you.
—Jason, Los Angeles

Happily. Great week for Guga at Indian Wells. And don't read too much into his being euthanized in the final by Hewitt. Kuerten had to finish off Rainer Schuettler in the semis earlier in the day and, understandably, had little left in the tank after that.

An aside about these Masters Series events: We love that there are no off days and that players must endure the struggle of winning six matches (against an all-but-guaranteed top-flight opponent) in six days. But rain delays (as we saw last week and in Cincy last August) can really wreak havoc on the scheduling.

Unfortunately, Kuerten wasn't up to par in Miami and lost early to Thomas Enqvist.

What has happened to one of my favorites, Guillermo Cañas? He had a spectacular win over Lleyton Hewitt at the French last year and also played great in winning the Toronto Masters Series event. Since then he seems to have fallen off the radar screen.
—Brad Lanius, Belleville, Ill.

Slick Willy has been slow in recovering from a wrist injury and is set to go under the knife for a second time. To the delight of Team Hewitt, Cañas almost assuredly will miss the French and might not be back until late summer.

Last week you mentioned that you did not know that Marat Safin is a non-practicing Muslim. This is something he said in an interview back in 1998 or 1999. He also said that he has an Arab name and that he is not named after the French revolutionary Jean Paul Marat, but commentators still think that. Why is it that some commentators don't know anything about the players and keep telling untrue facts on TV? While you're at it, what's the most stupid or untrue thing you've ever heard an announcer say about a player?
—Ilhame, Paris

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the concept of an "untrue fact," but I think you're a little harsh on us media types. The origins of Marat Safin's name isn't exactly a crucial piece of information, ignorance of which precludes one calling his matches competently.

Anyway, there's a classic story from several years ago about a CBS crew being rushed onto the air after a U.S. Open match went past midnight and USA's coverage lapsed. Martin vs. Moya, I want to say, but don't hold me to that. Mary Carillo was in the booth with a fairly well-known broadcaster, with whom I have several friends in common, so I will charitably decline to identify. Among other mind-bogglingly uninformed questions, this mystery announcer asked Carillo about her record in five-set matches. She also had a stubborn habit of confusing games and sets. Oddly enough, I don't believe she's called a tennis match since.

From recent memory, this isn't a tennis line but it cracked me up. During the John Ruiz-Roy Jones Jr. heavyweight title fight a few Saturdays ago, the self-parody (but master griller) George Foreman said: "The referee is the most important person in that ring. After the two fighters, that is."

What are your top five worst tennis-related products?
—Anthony, Redwood City, Calif.

Nice question. But are we counting the ATP-ISL deal? The WTA Tour's Lucy.com options? The Anna Kournikova workout videos?

If you guys have others, send 'em in. Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Those "ball pressurizers" that purportedly added life to your used tennis balls. I was given one those on every birthday between the ages of 10 and 18. It should have been subject to a consumer-protection investigation.

2. The yellow and orange swirl-cone tennis balls.

3. The gimmick racket with the head on the throat at an odd angle.

4. The Velcro strips you were supposed to put on the butt of your racket for picking up balls without bending down. Worked about as well as the pressurizers.

5a. The Tretorn Tennis Trainer (crap product but a hell of a tongue twister). This was -- is? -- a ball on a rubber cord affixed to a base so you can practice alone. Actually, the idea wasn't bad but the device was useless once the ball lost pressure. (Wait, I know: We could have revived the balls with the pressurizer!)

5b. The Tourn-A-Grip headband that was favored by certain Midwest high school teams in the late '80s.

I don't know if you know this, but Serena Williams does not have the best winning streak of the year in the women's game. That distinction goes to none other then Miss Karolina Sprem of Croatia. As of last week, she was 25-0 for the season and her ranking had moved more than 70 spots into the top 200. Congrats to Miss Sprem! I was wondering if you know anything about her game?
—Ryan Wee, New Orleans

She could be a seminal player, the Sprem. Thanks, Ryan, for that bank of information. I know nothing about her game, but we'll put her under the microscope.

Here are two on-court fights worth mentioning: During a five-set semifinal match between Brad Gilbert and David Wheaton at the inaugural Grand Slam Cup in 1990, the two engaged in a "shoving" match during a changeover. After the match both admitted the amount of money they were playing for (the winner of the tournament earned $2 million, the runner-up $1 million) affected their tempers. After a match at the French Open in 1992, Karel Novacek punched/shoved Derrick Rostagno in the chest during the post-match handshake. I saw this on SportCenter; the anchors thought Novacek's form was hilarious.
—Kevin Patrick, Los Angeles

Thanks. A few of you mentioned the Novacek-Rostagno dustup.

Re: "Electronic courtship." Hilarious and really well thought out at the same time. Better call the WTA Tour ASAP and tell the folks there that it's fiction, journalistic creativity. They seemed to miss that at least once in the past.
—Joe, Waynesboro, Va.

I prefer the word satire to fiction. But just to clear up any confusion, yes, the Charlie Pasarell-Williams sisters e-mail exchange is not to be taken literally.

Miscellany