Power of Caring
  presented by CIGNA

Big Mac attack

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Monday July 12, 1999 04:32 PM

Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will answer your tennis questions weekly. Click here to send a question.

So. What do you do to celebrate the week after you've won Wimbledon? If you're Lindsay Davenport, the most down-to-earth player on tour, you head to majestic New Haven, Conn. Great pizza and all, but New Haven? Come again? Seems that earlier in the year, Davenport had committed to promoting New Haven's $135,000 Pilot Pen event held prior to the U.S. Open. These are precisely the kind of "optional/mandatory" appearances that drive players crazy, but Davenport had made a promise so she stuck to it. A few days after claiming the biggest prize in tennis, she was in southern Connecticut, posing for photos, recording a voice-mail message to ticket buyers, conducting a kids' clinic in 100° noontime heat and accommodating every interview request no matter how small the media outlet. If you're in the market for a tennis player to root for, look no further.

Your questions ...

Did you see John McEnroe's appearance on Late Show with David Letterman last week? McEnroe spent pretty much the entire first segment of the interview ripping Steffi Graf for withdrawing from their mixed-doubles team at Wimbledon. He said that she had promised him going in that she wouldn't back out (he feared she would -- apparently she's had a habit of dropping out of doubles in the past?). Was he really upset or do you think he was just playing it up for effect and for laughs? Can we expect him to find another partner at the U.S. Open or is he done?
—Doug, Seattle

Lots of questions about Mac this week. The first time I heard him griping about Graf's dissolution of their marriage, I figured he was playing to the crowd. But, clearly, the guy is truly pissed off, which is as unwarranted as it is petty. Mixed doubles, let's not forget, is one step above an exhibition. No one, aside from McEnroe, takes it seriously, and no one takes a player's mixed-doubles record into account when assessing greatness. What's more, McEnroe ought to have known ahead of time that Graf's bagging their partnership was a distinct possibility. In fact, she would have been a fool to waste her energy -- and risk an injury -- clowning around the day before she was supposed to play in the finals of the biggest event on the calendar. At age 30. In her final match on Centre Court. Chiding Graf for pulling out is like attacking Michael Jordan for withdrawing from a dunk contest during the NBA Finals. The Graf-McEnroe team was raucously entertaining and there was little doubt they would have won the title had they stayed eligible. If they stay together, they might get their shot for redemption at the Open. But given how unforgiving McEnroe's been, I wonder if Graf doesn't go the way of Tatum O'Neal.

I see that the ITF is trying to introduce a bigger ball to increase the entertainment value of tennis. I'm all for improving tennis, but what will this do? The serve is a single shot much like the return is. Will this bigger ball be a disadvantage to those who happen to be great servers and an advantage to those who can return well? Why should people be punished for being able to serve?
—Jason Englisbe, Simpsonville, S.C.

The thinking is that, particularly on grass, men's tennis has become such a slam-bam affair that it's no longer enjoyable to watch. The bigger balls -- there's an Angus Young joke in here somewhere -- are said to slow the game down by as much as 10% and will give the receivers an extra .03 seconds to react. (It doesn't sound like much of an advantage to me, but what do I know?) In any case, you're right, the most obvious beneficiaries are the returners and the losers are the big servers. Still, the larger balls will only be used in small tournaments, and the jackhammers on the ATP Tour aren't exactly quaking in their boots. Says Goran Ivanisevic: "Small balls, big balls, whatever balls, I'm going to hit my aces no matter what."

During Steffi Graf's recent resurgence, we kept hearing about Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam singles championships. It seems the retiring Graf won't break that record, but how significant is Court's achievement? Most of her titles were on grass, and 11 were Australian Open titles, mostly from the days when very few great non-Australians played that tournament.
—Sarah Bolmarcich, Charlottesville, Va.

Agreed. There's definitely an apples-and-oranges issue when it comes to comparing Grand Slam titles. Don't get me wrong, Court's 24 Slams are nothing to sneeze at. But when you consider that Graf has won every major at least four times and had to beat players like Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis in the finals, it's hard to argue that she doesn't roost atop the mountain. (It's also worth pointing out that Roy Emerson, whose 12 career Slams on the men's side was just tied by Pete Sampras, is generally not even regarded as one of the 10 best players of all time.)

Hi. I am a proud Queenslander just like Patrick Rafter, and obviously we all follow the news on him with rapt attention here. I check in with both this site and the ATP site nearly every day and have always been surprised to see the amount of coverage he gets in the States. Why do the Americans find Pat Rafter so attractive? I mean, we think he's awesome, though from an international point of view he doesn't have the flashiness of an Andre Agassi, or the awe-inspiring presence of Pete Sampras. What are your thoughts on why he is popular, particularly in the States?
—Noeleen Mulhall, Brisbane, Australia

Wonder if the latest issue of GQ has made it to Oz yet? Rafter has appeal for a number of reasons, some of them having nothing to do with physical attributes. First, Australians are to America what Mickey Rourke is to France. Inexplicably, we reflexively embrace everything from the Outback Steakhouse, to Crocodile Dundee, to the Little River Band to Mel Gibson. (Jeez, even Yahoo Serious got his 15 minutes here.) Second, Rafter, for all his success, is a cool guy who doesn't take himself too seriously and betrays zip attitude. Probably because he came up through the ranks playing quallies and satellites and not cruising down wild-card boulevard. Third -- and, unfortunately, least significant -- in a sport flush with atomic servers and power hitters, Rafter's classicist game is a throwback to another era.

I was very impressed with Justine Henin, the young Belgian player, in her performance against Lindsay Davenport at Roland Garros. And then disappointed when I didn't see her name in the draw at Wimbledon. Does she have any more good results or was that performance just a flash in the pan? I was also impressed with Kim Clijsters' journey to the final 16 at Wimbledon. What are they feeding their girls in Belgium?
—Ian Rashid, Bristol, England

Waffles.

How much, if any, discussion is there on the tour these days about improving television coverage of tournaments? In my opinion, tennis is getting slaughtered by golf, where each weekend you can see almost all the top players, even if they are not in contention. Tennis coverage would be better -- especially the majors -- if more players were in the spotlight. Three thoughts: First, even though the Wimbledon finals were tape-delayed, it was better to see all or most of four matches than one. Second, now that you can find tournament schedules on the Internet, it is just astounding how much of a tournament is not shown on TV because it takes place on outside courts. Finally, how about more events where men and women play together (thus increasing the likelihood of an interesting matchup). What do you think?
—Hank Moravec, Los Angeles

One of the big problems with tennis on television is that on the final day of the tournament, only two players are doing battle. On a Sunday golf telecast, if the leader is a boring no-name, the producers can switch to Tiger at 15 or Freddy at the par-3 12th. Conversely, if the network gets stuck with Stefan Koubek against Sandon Stolle in the finals of a tennis event -- hardly out of the question these days -- there's not much of a Plan B. Understandably, networks are reluctant to take that gamble, especially at lower-tier events.

As for your points:

1. I hate tape delay, but if the women's finals are on Saturday as they should be, it's a moot point.

2. True, but what's the solution? It's hard to put a broadcast booth on every court and, besides, most tennis fans, alas, would rather see Venus Williams skunk some qualifier on Centre Court than watch Lisa Raymond and Julie Halard-Decugis play a thrilling three-setter on Court 17.

3. More mixed tournaments would be swell, but it will be increasingly difficult with the monster marketing deal the ATP Tour just signed. Also, it works great at Lipton and Indian Wells, but often two singles events generate more money than one combo.

I'm a huge fan of Steffi Graf and was overwhelmed when she won the French and demonstrated so much class in her post-match speech. Therefore, I was especially disappointed in how she behaved at Wimbledon, dumping her mixed-doubles semifinal match without even notifying her partner, and pouting and barking at journalists after her loss in singles. It seemed to me that playing with John McEnroe had elevated her net play, and I think she would have won the singles final if she had only played doubles with Mac the night before. I also wonder if she shouldn't have been a little happier simply to have made the final and proved that she's still one of the Top 2 grass-court players in the world at this point and has a shot at No. 1, etc., etc. Why was she such a sourpuss after all that she's accomplished this summer, especially after witnessing Martina Hingis' shameful display at the French, and why has no one remarked upon this?
—Mark Hornburg, Raleigh, N.C.

First, her decision to bag the doubles was, despite Mac's protestations, completely legit. Yes, she deprived us of a made-for-TV event, something tennis can always use. But when you're 30-years-old and have a chance to win your final Wimbledon, it's understandable that you want to cut down on the distractions during the last weekend. That said, Graf was, indeed, cantankerous and boorish after losing to Davenport, but it didn't come close to approaching the tantrum Hingis threw in Paris. Graf, however, hates losing -- and, unless she pulls a Boris Becker , has played her last match on the hallowed grass. All things considered, I say we cut her a little slack.

Who has the ugliest game in recent memory? I nominate Brad Gilbert.
—Scott Zeller, New Canaan, Conn.

The really ugly players never make it past the first few rounds of a tournament, so I'm not sure we can count a guy like, say, Karsten Braasch, whose service motion looks like Hideki Irabu on crack. Of the mainstream ilk, I'd have to put Jim Courier way up there. His serve is average, he rarely volleys, those inside-out groundies are something other than textbook, and, even today, he wins by sheer tenacity. Other candidates: Jeff Tarango, Horst Skoff, Hernan Gumy and almost every Italian player.

Why doesn't Vince Spadea get more respect? He has made it into the top 30, which, considering the depth of men's tennis, is quite remarkable. So far this year he has beaten Gustavo Kuerten, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Richard Krajicek, Karol Kucera, Andre Agassi, Mark Philippoussis. O.K., he hasn't strung together enough wins to win a tournament, but why do lower-ranked players like Jan-Michael Gambill and Justin Gimelstob get so much more attention and Davis Cup invitations?
—Mary B., New York City

Good question. After Agassi, Spadea is probably the best all-court player of any American. Dismissed by Agassi as "just a journeyman" last year, Spadea is on the verge of a top-20 ranking and has quietly made a career of beating top players. So why doesn't he get more exposure? For one, he's already been on tour for a while so he can't garner the "next hot thing" appeal of a Gambill or a Gimelstob. The real answer, though, I think is largely political. Spadea is a reticent, unremittingly serious guy who keeps to himself on tour and doesn't have the top players in his corner -- like a blond-haired, blue-eyed, outgoing poster boy like Gambill does. What's more, Spadea travels with his, uh, eccentric father, Vince Sr., who has single-handedly managed to alienate a sizable faction of the pro tennis community. All things being equal -- and we know they're not -- Vince Spadea ought to have been on a Davis Cup team by now and ought to be better promoted on the tour.

Is Steffi Graf the best tennis player of all time, as some have lately argued? Or does Pete Sampras deserve that distinction?
—Demetrios Efstratiou, Austin Texas

Graf is better than Sampras much the same way Elizabeth Taylor is a more gifted thespian than Robert DeNiro. These things tend to get broken down on gender lines.

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

 

Related information
Stories
Previous Tennis Mailbags Jon Wertheim's Tennis Hot List
Multimedia
Click here for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.