The Baggie Awards
Posted: Wednesday January 06, 1999 03:42 PM
Jon Wertheim's Tennis Mailbag will return the week before the Australian
Open. Click here to send a
question.
So far as professional tennis is concerned, 1998 will be recalled at the Year of
the Woman. Oh, there was nothing much wrong with the men. Pete Sampras
made a successful, if somewhat clumsy, attempt to achieve the No. 1 ranking for
a record sixth straight year; Pat Rafter cemented his status as an elite
player; the inimitable Andre Agassi returned to center stage; and there
were none of the scandals, lockouts and arrests that marred so many other
sports. But the WTA tour -- a repertory troupe of old and young, black and
white, cocky and modest -- all but bageled the men not just in terms of
popularity but in drama as well. Queen Martina Hingis was supplanted by
Lindsay Davenport ; Jana Novotna finally staved off her personal
demons to win Wimbledon, her first Grand Slam; Steffi Graf made an
Agassi-like return to the top; and Venus Williams left little doubt she
will be a No. 1 player soon enough. With rivalries, the level of play, and
television ratings all on the increase, the WTA is poised for even greater
success in 1999. (Now if only the tour could lure a
sponsor.)
But before we look ahead to next year, here are the first annual Tennis Mailbag
postseason awards for
1998:
Best Player, Male: A tough call in a year when four different players won
Grand Slams, but factoring in bonus points for Davis Cup participation, this
year's award goes to Rafter. After a sluggish beginning to the year, Rafter won
back-to-back Super Nines this summer and then defended his U.S. Open title with
crafty serving-and-volleying and superior fitness. Runner-up goes to Sampras,
who is inching ever closer to Roy Emerson's mark for career
majors.
Best Player, Female: Davenport. We've all heard the story a thousand
times about how she got herself into shape and became No. 1. What hasn't been as
heralded is the fact that she hits her groundstrokes as hard as any female in
history.
Most Improved Player, Male: Jan-Michael Gambill . After starting
the year ranked 176, this Star Trek fan from Spokane beamed up more than 120
places in the rankings. Runner-up:
Agassi.
Most Improved Player, Female: Switzerland's Patty Schnyder
emigrated from the land of the also-ran to win five titles, earn nearly $1
million in prize money and crack the Top 10. Runner-up: Corina Morariu ,
the best American player no one's heard
of.
Schnyder, the other teenage Swiss Miss, jumped into the Top 10 by winning five titles. Gary M. Prior/ALLSPORT | |
Best Newcomer, Female: Seems like we've been hearing about her boundless
reserves of talent (and back muscles) since 1963 or so, but in her first full
year on the circuit Serena Williams left little doubt she'll be as good
as
advertised.
Best Newcomer, Male: Russian teenager Marat Safin is a good bet to
overcome the ghosts of Volkov/Medvedev/Kafelnikov and actually live up to his
potential. Runner-up: Belgium's Xavier Malisse , a Dennis Rodman
wannabe who nearly beat Sampras earlier this
year.
Bobby Riggs Memorial Delusions of Grandeur Award: John McEnroe ,
who last week asserted that he is currently the best American doubles player
alive. Now he is quoted as saying he wants to be president of the ITF because "I think the players respect me."
Underachiever Award, Male: Appropriately a tie (get it?) among Sampras,
Agassi and Michael Chang , who, for various reasons, declined to play for
the U.S. Davis Cup team. The woebegone U.S. team, not surprisingly, lost to
Italy in Milwaukee before 23 fans and a bratwurst vendor. Note to Sampras: You
might be right that the Davis Cup doesn't receive the prestige and attention it
warrants, but why not take it upon yourself to change that? Its prominence
certainly isn't going to improve as long as you're at home playing
Nintendo.
Underachiever Award, Female: I've been told to stop picking on
Anna (I've won fewer career titles than Henrieta Nagyova )
Kournikova , so I'll go with Iva Majoli , the 1997 French Open
champion who is now on the fringes of the Top 20. Runner-up: Amanda
Coetzer , who followed up a strong 1997 by falling out of the Top
15.
Best Injury of the Year Award: No brainer, almost literally. Goran
Ivanisevic , no doubt inspired by Croatia's success in the World Cup,
attempted to knock a ball across the net using his head during a match at the du
Maurier Open. Problem was, his doubles partner, the notoriously hard-headed
Mark Philippoussis had the same bright idea and the two made like Larry
and Moe. Ivanisevic needed stitches and had to default the match. Runner-up:
Marcelo Rios had to default from his ensuing match after hurting his
thigh muscle playing soccer with a tennis ball. I'm starting to thinking soccer
and tennis might not mix so
well.
Marc Rosset Impolitic Quote of the Year: Hingis, who is to impertinence
what Rios is to tanking, on Kournikova. "I've seen her in the locker room
without her makeup. [Her boyfriend, Sergei ] Fedorov ought to be
deported."
Your
questions:
Hello, mate. Since I haven't read anything about it from you, do you think
Gustavo Kuerten is tough enough to make the Top 10 again? Do you think he might
reach a Grand Slam final next year? Thanks,
mate.
—Vitor Rangel Marinho, Brasilia,
Brazil
No problem, mate. Kuerten is the kind of player we all want to see succeed. An
outgoing, fun-loving surfer boy from Brazil with a bouncy clump of hair, a
wicked forehand and a grandmother as a coach, "Guga" is just the kind
of marketing dynamo tennis needs. Alas, Kuerten's game doesn't keep pace with
his charisma. His forehand is really his only weapon, he has yet to serve as
well as he did during the 1997 French Open, and he is an average player on any
surface other than clay. Unless he gets hot again for two weeks in Paris, I'm
afraid his days as a top player and Grand Slam finalist are behind
him.
I was wondering if you felt that John McEnroe is the best doubles player in
the world, as he asserts. Don't you think he has dropped a level or two since
retiring?
—Mark Gabriel,
Atlanta
McEnroe can compete with today's doubles players the same way George
Mikan can compete with Shaquille O'Neal . How we can deem him a
credible tennis commentator when he makes these ridiculous pronouncements, I'm
not
sure.
I recently discovered your Mailbag and read back over several months' worth.
You frequently mention how one main reason for Pete Sampras' phenomenal success
is his iron-clad mental game, and how he consistently pulls it together to win
the big points. That said, are we witnessing the beginning of the end of the
Sampras reign, considering what happened in Hannover? No question Alex Corretja
played well, but all the same, the mental toughness sure wasn't there in that
ugly third-set tiebreaker. His performance was even more noteworthy when
compared to Corretja's gutsy comeback the next day against Moya in that
four-hour marathon. Your
thoughts?
—Laura Paglis, Lafayette,
Ind.
A tennis fan in Indiana. Now I can say I've seen it all. I don't disagree with
your observation. Since winning Wimbledon, Sampras has played an awful lot of
matches where it seems his head is elsewhere. A sloppy three-set loss to Agassi
in Toronto, a combustion against Leander Paes in New Haven, a loose match
against Greg Rusedski in Paris, and, as you note, the debacle against
Corretja. My theory: Sampras has gotten so caught up in his legacy, his place in
the annals of tennis, that he tends to lose focus on the here and now. He went
on this exhaustive, Holy Grail-like quest pursuing the No. 1 ranking this year
and after he locked that up in Hannover, he had absolutely nothing left against
Corretja. As Sampras' mental game slides and his body is proving to be something
other than resilient, next year will be critical in his long-stated career goal
of catching Roy Emerson's record for Grand Slam titles. Whether he puts too much
pressure on himself at the majors or whether he carpes the diem and rises to the
occasion will go a long way in determining his tennis
epitaph.
Do you feel that the Australian Open still deserves to be part of the Grand
Slam, and if not, what tournament would be a better
candidate?
—Cowart D. Fairley Jr., El Paso,
Texas
I hate to say this, but if any tournament deserves to be eliminated as a Slam,
it's the French Open. As clay has become an increasingly balkanizing surface,
Roland Garros has become the province of one-hit wonders: Chang, Andres
Gomez , Sergi Bruguera , Yevgeny Kafelnikov , Kuerten and even
Thomas Muster . With a new state-of-the-art stadium, a new title sponsor,
a new surface and a new resurgence of interest in tennis Down Under, the
Australian Open has come a long way from a decade ago when top players would
just as soon not make the exhausting trip to Melbourne. The television coverage
here in the States isn't so hot, but that's a function of the time difference as
much as anything else. Here's my idea: make the fourth (or fifth) Grand Slam a
year-end Super Bowl where the No. 1-ranked players will be determined. The men
and women will play together and the site will change every year. This will give
countries like Germany, Japan, South Africa and Sweden the chance to host a
top-notch event, as well as add some prestige to the final tournament of the
year.
In your opinion, who are the nicest and easiest tennis players to talk to
both on and off the
court?
—John Uglesich, New
Orleans
Not so long ago this would be like asking me about the coolest accountant. But
most of today's players are actually pretty personable, if somewhat moody. As a
rule, the women are easier to deal with than the men, but that will no doubt
change as the popularity of the WTA continues burgeoning. Davenport is
completely down to earth and has the manners of a finishing-school graduate.
Monica Seles is usually accommodating and is particularly good with the
fans. Venus Williams might have a frosty reputation, but she's a lot of fun
one-on-one. As far as the men, Rafter is unfailingly pleasant, despite the
heightened demand for his time; Corretja is universally well-liked, and
Ivanisevic not only has a great of humor, but takes himself even less seriously
than the rest of us
do.
Do Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have a chance to win a Grand Slam doubles
title next
year?
—Kris Datta, Calcutta,
India
I wonder if Paes has any idea how popular he is. I think I've mentioned this
before, but outside of Sampras and Agassi, I get more questions about him than
any other male player on tour. But I digress. Though their performance at the
ATP Tour Doubles Championships in Phoenix left something to be desired, Paes and
Bhupathi are unquestionably among the world's top teams. Given that Jacco
Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis are no longer, and the Woodies' combined
age exceeds 60, this Hin-duo, if you will, could easily win a Slam title in
1999.
Jon Wertheim's Tennis Mailbag will return in a month's time. Check back the
week before the Australian Open begins, or click here to submit a question
now.
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