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 Wimbledon Notebook Mostly sunny start predicted for Wimbledon
Posted: Sunday June 21, 1998 02:02 PM
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Coming off the wettest tournament in history, Wimbledon should get off to a dry start this week. But don't look for the first week to be rain-free. "I would never bet on that," forecaster Graham Rye said Sunday. Monday should offer a sunny start with a slight chance of light showers in the afternoon. Tuesday brings the greatest chance of rain over the first three days, with Wednesday predicted to be dry and bright. Thursday and Friday bring the risk of heavy rain with bright sun also possible in patches. "It should be a good start, nothing like the downpours of last year," Rye said. There were nearly three straight days of complete washouts during the first week last year, forcing organizers to schedule matches on the middle Sunday for only the second time in history.
Sampras, Hingis best betsMartina Hingis is the odds-on favorite to defend her Wimbledon title, and Pete Sampras is the favorite on the men's side. British bookmakers Ladbrokes listed Hingis on Sunday at 10-11 followed by Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, both 6-1. Other top women include Venus Williams and Jana Novotna, 12-1; Anna Kournikova, 14-1; Lindsay Davenport and Conchita Martinez, 20-1. Behind Sampras at 5-4 are Richard Krajicek and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-1; Greg Rusedski, 12-1; Jonas Bjorkman, 14-1; Patrick Rafter, 16-1; Goran Ivanisevic, Tim Henman and Andre Agassi, 20-1. The odds are 7-1 on a British man winning, which hasn't happened since Fred Perry won in 1936.
Superbrat IIMarcelo Rios, the temperamental Chilean who was ranked No. 1 briefly earlier this year, is good for tennis, according to former bad boy John McEnroe. "It's more interesting for the fans to have a bad guy to root against than every player behaving exactly the same," the three-time Wimbledon champion told the Sunday Mirror newspaper. The No. 2 seeded Rios has previously suggested that grass was for cows -- not for tennis. Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion, also thinks Rios is good for tennis. "There are too many robots in the game," Cash said. Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, McEnroe ripped unmotivated players and a system that has them playing too much tennis. "Looking down the field there are not too many out there with greatness seared through them," McEnroe said. "The way the tour and the ranking system are set up, there is too much money and the motivational forces are not as strong as they used to be."
Venus wisdomNot everyone is excited about the clash between former champions and teen-agers in the women's field. Venus Williams declined to answer questions Sunday about the draw, her chances and Steffi Graf's return to Wimbledon."Those questions are kind of boring," Williams said. "I have a general statement: I'm glad to be here. Everyone is going to be trying to win, and everyone is glad Steffi's back. And that's all."
Equal payBart McGuire, the recently appointed chief executive officer of the Women's Tennis Association, will be at Wimbledon pressing the chiefs of the four Grand Slams for equal pay for women. With young WTA stars like Martina Hingis, Venus and Serena Williams, and Anna Kournikova, McGuire says the women's game has become more attractive than the men's. The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam that pays the men and women equally. "I will be addressing the issue respectfully to the Grand Slam chairmen," he told The Sunday Telegraph. "The TV ratings for the Australian Open show the women getting more viewers than the men. At Wimbledon and the French Open last year, the U.S. TV ratings were 20 percent better for the women. "All we are asking is for people to recognize that the situation is changing," he added. "That these changes are not transitory but have a degree of permanence and should be reflected in the women's prize money relative to the men."
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Wet wait: Rain washed out three straight days of competition last year 