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Suddenly, Agassi re-enters the
picture
Posted: Mon July 27,
1998
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will answer your tennis questions weekly. Click here to send a question.
With the possible exception of his wife, is there anyone
whose career has had more wild undulations than
Andre
Agassi? Just when it looks like Agassi is going to disappear into
a trail of vapor, he reappears and tears through draws like
Sherman through Atlanta. Then, just as you're ready to hop
on his bandwagon and anoint him as
Pete
Sampras' rival, he goes into hibernation. Entering this year,
though, even the most unremitting optimist had to wonder
whether this was it for the erstwhile Mr.
Image-Is-Everything. At age 27 his ranking was a woeful
122, he hadn't been to a Grand Slam final
since 1995, and he had plenty of incentive to call it a
career. "Instead," he said, "I decided that
I had to rededicate myself to being the best I could
be."
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Andre Agassi may be gearing up for another charge at the U.S. Open.
(AP/William Philpott)
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If Agassi wasn't the best he could be this past weekend,
when he won the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C.,
pity his poor colleagues. Now ranked No. 13, Agassi was
simply playing a different game than his opponents. In the
semis, he needed 56
minutes to beat
Wayne
Ferreira, a formidable hardcourt player, 6-1, 6-0. The next day, he
spent 50 minutes waxing
Scott
Draper, 6-2, 6-0. Wow. "I played him when he was No. 1 in
the world and he's playing better now," said Draper.
Can Agassi stay this hot heading into the U.S. Open?
History is never an indication with this guy, but this much
is for sure: following his career
is more entertaining than
Suddenly
Susan.
On to the
'bag...
Jon, I am still awaiting your reply from last week. I would
appreciate a
response.
1. What do you think of Venus Williams' progress since last
year's U.S. Open finals, and can she duplicate her success
but win this
year?
2. Will Steffi Graf and Monica Seles regain their touch and
challenge for the No. 1
position?
3. Can Venus challenge Martina Hingis for No. 1 this year
or next if her game continues to
improve?
4. Who of the young
blassful teens will step up and create a rivalry with
Hingis—Anna Kournikova, Venus, Serena Williams,
Mirjana
Lucic?
Jon, please answer these questions for
me.
—Harry C. Tiller Sr.,
Washington
Easy there, tiger. If everyone remains calm, no one gets
hurt.
1. Venus has progressed nicely this year and, more
importantly, brings her 'A' game to the Slams. I'd like to
see her play more hardcourt events this summer, but I would
hardly be floored if she made it to the finals
again.
2. Given their experience, I think Seles and Graf are both
capable of beating Hingis. Right now, though, the best
female player on the planet is
Jana
Novotna and, provided she keeps her head in the match, I'd bet on
her to beat either Graf or
Seles.
3. Venus has to defend so many points at the Open that,
even if she wins, she stands virtually no chance of
catching Hingis by year's end. She will by the end of 1999,
though.
4. "Blassful," eh? Not quite sure what you mean
there. Maybe an amalgam of blissful and blasphemous, both
of which describe the damsels you've mentioned. Venus is
Hingis' biggest rival. And the more Hingis coolly dismisses
it, the more she fosters
it.
There have been a lot of complaints recently about how
boring the men's game has become now that players have such
overpowering serves. John McEnroe suggested going back to
using wooden rackets, and I think the International Tennis
Federation is discussing the possibility of eliminating the
second serve. Do you think any of these will actually
happen, and will it really help tennis become more
interesting?
—Hema, Columbus,
Ohio
We've passed the point of no return regarding technology.
The equipment industry is entirely too powerful to submit
to a "wooden rackets only" policy, even if it
applied only to the pros. Also, every player who relied on
his widebody or thunderstick for
that extra juice would file an injunction the next day. The
one-serve proposal ain't going to happen either. The game
of tennis embraces change as lustily as Pete
Sampras embraces losing. If a comparatively minor suggestion of
doing away with service lets has provoked a firestorm of
controversy, you can imagine how hard it will be to change
one of the fundamental rules of the
game.
Who are your picks for this year's U.S.
Open?
—Andrew,
Toronto
Ask me in a month and I might have a different answer, but
right now my picks are admittedly lame: Sampras and
Novotna—Sampras, simply because there are no other men
consistent enough to win seven straight matches; Novotna,
because she has slayed her
personal dragon and her net game is so superior to any other
player's.
What do you think of Steffi Graf's chances of winning the
U.S.
Open?
—Gaylemarie,
Philippines
Graf is at this strange point in her career where she is
simply happy to be on the court smacking balls again. The
advantage is that there is very little pressure, even
self-applied, on her to reclaim her top spot. The
disadvantage is that she may lack
a certain urgency and intensity to pull out close matches,
à là her loss to
Natasha
Zvereva at Wimbledon. Still, Graf is a money player, and if she
shakes a little rust off in the next five weeks, I wouldn't
rule her out by any
stretch.
What has happened to Michael Chang this year, and what are
his prospects for the U.S. Open and
1999?
—M. Mathias, Los
Angeles
I'm not sure anyone—not least Chang himself—has
satisfactorily diagnosed the problem. Here's a guy who had
the chance to take over the No. 1 spot at last year's U.S.
Open, and if the '98 Open were to start today he wouldn't
even be seeded. Unlike most
of his contemporaries, Chang's effort, fitness level and
match preparation are beyond reproach. Unfortunately, I
think his biggest weakness is uncorrectable. That is, even
with that abnormally long racket, at 5' 9", 150
pounds, Chang's physique puts him
at a nearly insurmountable
disadvantage.
Send a question to Jon Wertheim, and check back the beginning of each week to read more of his answers.
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