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Seeding compromise makes sense
Updated: Tuesday June 19, 2001 10:31 AM
They beat one of the world's most intransigent organizations into submission and still they're not satisfied. That's my assessment of the players' reaction to Wimbledon's decision to expand the seeding this year. For those who don't know, the oldest institution in tennis stepped down from its ivory towers in southwest London and actually listened for once. The powers that be at the All England Club compromised their age-old views with regards to the method of seeding and created a new system that's more in line with the players' demands. So, from this year, 32 seeds will enter the men's and women's singles draws, instead of the traditional 16. What's more, Wimbledon's unusual policy of basing the seedings on previous grass court performances alone while virtually ignoring the ATP and WTA rankings is also gone, replaced instead by a hybrid formula that takes into account a player's world ranking as well as his or her record on grass. As a result, the top 32 in both the ATP and WTA will all be seeded, though not necessarily in their ranking order.
What's been the reaction from some of those who forced the issue? Well, pretty negative. Juan Carlos Fererro, who's among an armada of Spanish clay-courters who've threatened a boycott of the All England Championships this year, branded the new system a "step backwards." French Open runner-up Alex Corretja wants to see how he fares in the seeding, the order of which will still be determined by Wimbledon, before deciding whether or not to go. U.S Open champion Marat Safin of Russia, whose less-than-stellar season so far means he actually stands to benefit from the new seeding format, claims "it's not going to work." Adding that, "It's a mistake that's just going to be a headache for everybody." To be balanced, Britain's Greg Rusedski seemed to support the idea. But supporters of the new formula seem to be few and far between.
So has Wimbledon, and the other three Grand Slams that will also adopt the system from now on, got it right? Well, in my view the answer is yes. What better way to ensure the cream rises to the top than to grade the competitors according to the surface on which they're playing? We're forever hearing how so and so can't play on clay. How someone else is lethal on grass. Or how the different kinds of hardcourts affect a certain player's game in various ways. So isn't it logical to take account of this when seeding a tournament? If you primarily stick to the rankings, then you end up with a situation like the French Open has faced in recent years with Pete Sampras. Pete can't play on clay. At least, he's a mere shadow of the player on the red stuff that he is on other surfaces. Yet this year he was seeded fifth. It made no sense. He hadn't made the quarterfinals there since 1996 and once again came nowhere near justifying his seeding. Similarly, on grass, had Gustavo Kuerten not opted out of this year's Wimbledon, he would have to have been seeded No. 1 if the seedings were matched with the rankings, even though none of his 14 career tournament titles have come on grass. Surely that would have been pure nonsense. Of course, I'm not dismissing the Champions Race as an indicator of form. I just happen to think the Wimbledon compromise is the best way to go. Grand Slams are special events, where it's horses for courses. If you can't perform on the tournament surface, that's just the way it goes. I don't believe your performances elsewhere should be used to give you a leg up. There is one other option though: Forget the seeding altogether. Just have a random draw like they do in some cup soccer tournaments. That way every player is in the same boat and nobody can complain that they didn't get a fair shot. Now, I wonder how those bleating about the assisted passage formula would feel about that. Or perhaps I already know.
Terry Baddoo is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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