Rosset spouted off some politically incorrect statements about his female counterparts. Bob Martin

To borrow a phrase from Capriati -- anyways ...

When will the ATP institute a mandatory school of proper behavior similar to the PGA Tour? This would at least force current tennis rubbish such as Marcelo Rios to be potty trained. Once you enforce the rules with $100,000 fines and suspensions from tournament play you will get the attention of the sissy punks who whine, scream and spit.
—Richard Peppel, Atlanta

A suspension and a $100,000 fine for oxymoronic "sissy punks" sounds a wee bit Draconian to me. And, in fact, the on-court behavior in men's tennis hasn't been all that bad this year. I wouldn't mind seeing both tours take a tougher stance on tanking, but it's one of those "know it when I see it" offenses that is impossible to prove.

How do you think Monica Seles will do at the Chase and the Aussie Open? Also, who do you think would win a match between Martina Hingis at her best and Seles at her best? Steffi Graf at her best and Seles at her best? Come on, speculate for me.
—Seles fan, Bakersfield, Calif.

As much as all of us would like to see Seles return to the top, her results are just too uneven these days. Last week in Philly, for example, she dominated Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-1 in the quarters, but in her next match she looked spotty against Davenport and lost 6-3, 6-3. Seles is still capable of beating anyone on tour but, especially at a tournament like the Chase where every opponent is a quality opponent, I can't say I like her chances.

At their respective bests, Seles beats Hingis in straight sets but loses in three sets to Graf. In 1991-92, when Seles won six of eight Slams, it looked as if she could easily become the best player of all time. She certainly hit the ball harder than Hingis ever has and was just as unflappable under pressure.

Why do Pete Sampras's detractors criticize him for playing all these consecutive tournaments when other guys like Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Pat Rafter never take a week off? With Todd Martin's impressive performance in Paris, why did he fumble in the Davis Cup semis against Italy?
—Virma Mancolintas, Cebu City, Philippines

In large part, the criticism directed at Sampras stems from the fact he skipped the Davis Cup -- which the U.S. consequently lost -- claiming that his weary body needed a rest. But when his individual record of six straight years as the No. 1-ranked player was in jeopardy he bounded out of bed and entered every event he could. I say Sampras is to be admired for pursuing a goal so vigorously, but it sure would have been nice for him to have played a few sets of indoor tennis for his country and spared the U.S. its recent Davis Cup embarrassment. Sampras is borderline obsessive about his tennis legacy. Seems to me history will remember Davis Cup heroism more fondly than it will a streak of No. 1 rankings during a time of questionable opposition.

I'm sure Martin, meanwhile, would kill to have played half as well in the Davis Cup as he is right now. Even before Jan-Michael Gambill lost the first match for the Americans, I think Martin, elder statesman and the only Davis Cup veteran, felt intense pressure to play the hero. With the anvil hanging around his neck, he played tight in both singles and doubles. Of course, you're right, he's been on a roll ever since.

I'm curious what you think about Carlos Moya's potential. I know what you said in the previous Mailbag about not overestimating his U.S. Open performance, but nevertheless, I feel that it does demonstrate a huge amount of potential. The guy has a big serve, a big forehand, and an excellent backhand (witness the numerous down-the-line passing shots he pulled off on that side), and he's extremely comfortable at the net. I thought the serve-and-volley style he started employing somewhat effectively against Mark Philippousis in the U.S. Open semis spoke volumes about his potential. I think he's one of the best candidates for going straight to the top.

What about Dominique van Roost? Not much has been mentioned of her recently, even though she posted back-to-back wins against Venus Williams and Martina Hingis at the Porsche Grand Prix last month. I don't care if Hingis isn't playing as confidently she did as last year, defeating both is quite a feat. I didn't think anyone could come away against Venus with a score like that.
—R. Gupta, Washington, D.C.

I wouldn't argue that Moya is a strong player, but I can't see him becoming a No. 1 as long as Rafter is in the picture. Moya, you're right, has boundless potential and he won't be 23 until late August. On the other hand, he doesn't play well indoors or on grass, I would hardly term him "extremely comfortable at the net," and he may be hurt somewhat by the new ranking system that will dilute some of the easy points he's accumulated in the past on clay. We'll see what happens, but I've always been more fond of his buddy, Alex Corretja .

When I last saw van Roost play, she lost an uninspired third-round match to Kimberly Po , a solid player but nobody's powerhouse, at the U.S. Open. Her recent results, as you note, are estimable, but my impression is that she's a typical Top 20 player who has all the shots but no bread-and-butter weapon.

I've heard rumors that talented young Japanese player Ai Sugiyama is retiring. Any truth to these rumors? It would be a shame for Japanese tennis -- Kimiko Date also quit while she was relatively young.
—Brie, California

I'm not sure there's been an official announcement, but I've heard the same rumors. Despite consistently strong results and a top-20 finish, Sugiyama battled injuries all year, including at the U.S. Open where she had to withdraw from an early-round match. One of the most respected players on tour, Sugiyama is only 23, three years younger than Date when she left the circuit two years ago.

It is time to create a real senior tour, on par with the Senior PGA Tour. The current senior events have no consistency and are more like the World Wrestling Federation than professional tennis. Is anything in the works which would provide fans with competitive (not exhibition-like) senior events complete with open qualifying and larger draws? I know that the Nuveen Tour experimented with qualifying last year but I think they got scared when unknowns Greg Neuhart and Mike Fedderly beat some name players and reached the doubles final at the year-end event.
—Adam L. Rosen, Port Washington, N.Y.

First of all, Adam, you know entirely too much about the Nuveen Tour. I can only hope that Neuhart and Fedderly a) put you up to this, or b) are close friends/relatives. Anyway, the senior tour is a good idea that is being crippled by the antics of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors . It's a Mephistophilian bargain: The tour is nothing without those two but their behavior has been so egregious that it has turned fans off to the entire seniors concept. (Last week in an event in Croatia, McEnroe went ballistic over calls, screamed at the umpire and chucked his racket during his match against Bjorn Borg .) As for your suggestion, I like the idea of letting schmos off the street who never played professionally try to qualify for events. But it's a tough sell. Unlike the Senior PGA Tour, where the unknowns blend in among Chi Chi Rodriguez , Arnold Palmer , Jack Nicklaus , Lee Trevino , Hale Irwin , et al., who in their right mind would pay to watch Greg Neuhart play Andres Gomez ?

Do you think there ever could be a senior women's tour like the men have?
—Mark Gabriel, Atlanta

I would sooner eat Greg Neuhart's or Mike Fedderly's used grip tape than watch, say, Wendy Turnbull play Betty Stove . But provided you could convince Martina and Chris to come out and play hit-and-giggle, you could probably stage a dozen or so events a year.

Send a question to Jon Wertheim, and check back the beginning of each week to read more of his answers.  

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