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Pensive in Paris
Posted: Monday June 05, 2000 04:57 PM
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will answer your tennis questions weekly. Click here to send a question. PARIS -- A few of your questions during Monday's rain delay ... Whose early exit from the French do you think is the most disappointing? 1. Defending champ Andre Agassi's loss to Karol Kucera (Andre was in control of the match before his foot injury). 2. Pete Sampras's first-round loss (Pete was expected to give his all and claim his first French Open crown).
3. Lindsay Davenport's early exit. (Lindsay also has never won this tournament and was also expected to challenge Martina Hingis for the title.)
Is Karol Kucera stabbing his voodoo Andre Agassi doll during changeovers? Is he poisoning Agassi's mineral water? Has he cast a spell over Agassi? Does Agassi owe him money? What's going on? Figures someone with your name would be asking about AA. One of Agassi's former hitting partners, who demanded anonymity (which should tell you something), claims that every player has one opponent they hate to face. For Agassi, it's the Little Cat. "Kucera is in Andre's kitchen," is how my source put it. Kucera can handle Agassi's pace, he makes him hit a lot of balls and he returns well. Apparently, Agassi was upset when he saw Kucera's name in his segment of the draw. And while a blister unquestionably hindered Agassi's movement, you have to believe his meltdown had a mental component as well.
Last year when Martina Hingis cried on the court after losing to Steffi Graf, all the sportswriters criticized her. I didn't hear anybody commenting on how Andre Agassi left the Roland Garros grounds without speaking to the media. Do you think there is a bias in coverage of American versus European athletes? Interesting take. I'm not sure the two situations are entirely analogous. Hingis crossed into her opponent's court, took a prolonged bathroom break, served underhanded and then slapped a WTA Tour media rep. This on the heels of making homophobic remarks about a French player a few months prior. Agassi's bailing on the press conference was très lame, particularly since it was the second time this year he pulled such a stunt. That said, I think he was given some leeway because, at age 30, this loss might signify the beginning of the end. As with Jimmy Connors and his profanity at the 1991 U.S. Open, tennis types take a counterintuitive approach to boorish conduct: The more mature you are, the more acceptable it becomes.
Is Gustavo Kuerten really a special player? Do you think he can somehow be part of tennis history, like Pete Sampras or at least Andre Agassi? Or maybe his not playing well on non-clay courts might make it difficult for him? We'll have a better answer in a week. Right now Kuerten is a nice player who brings much-needed color to the game and hits unbelievable groundstrokes. But he's still light years away from the status of Agassi or Sampras. Though he obviously needs to bag a few more Slams, I think Kuerten has the potential to fall into that Guillermo Vilas/Jim Courier tier. The biggest impediment for Kuerten's legacy will be his record at Wimbledon. For better or worse, a player's results at the All-England Club go a long way on Judgment Day. For his career, he has won but four matches there.
All this focus on Anna Kournikova and her lack of a title reminds me of all the attention that was lavished on Tim Henman during the first year of "Henmania." I remember Todd Martin saying something to the effect of "Leave him alone. All this pressure won't help him win." Don't you think the same is true for Ms. K? The more focus on her lack of a title, the less likely she is to win? First off, I think we're talking about two entirely differently scales of popularity. Best as I can recall, Henman's practice sessions at every event weren't attended by hundreds, if not thousands, of panting fans. He wasn't the most downloaded personage on the Internet. Nor did he make more in endorsements than any other male athlete on the planet. But more important, the crucial difference is this: Henman didn't bring the attention on himself. One wants to feel for Kournikova -- who, let's not forget, is still a teenager -- and believe her when she laments that she didn't chose life in the fishbowl. But everything about her is so indiscreet you end up feeling she gets what she deserves.
How do most players you talk to feel about playing in the Olympics? Do many view it as a second-tier tournament (see: gold medalists Marc Rosset and Jennifer Capriati)? It's come up a bit this week and the answers vary greatly. Some, like Davenport, accord it as much prestige as a Slam. Then again, she won the gold medal in 1996. Others, like Hingis and Yevgeny Kafelinikov, rank it a notch below; Hingis made the valid point that Olympic tennis lacks the history of the Slams. Still others have little interest in competing. Venus Williams, for instance, said the other day that, although she grew up watching tapes of Olympic swimming (???), she's reluctant to make the trip to Australia if she'll only be there for doubles. And she may not go at all if her sister isn't chosen as well. In general, players seem interested in competing but are wary of the loooong trip to Australia and adding another event to their packed schedule immediately after the U.S. Open.
What's your take on Jeff Tarango? Everyone remembers his little contretemps with umpire Bruno Rebeuh a few years ago, but now he seems to have settled down and is getting some fair results. I read that in Paris he compared Lleyton Hewitt to Mike Tyson; you guys must just love interviewing him! Do the other players on tour regard him as a loon or is that just something the tennis press likes to play for good copy? My view is that the game would be all the less rich in character without him. Nice question. Tarango is definitely one of the real eccentrics on tour, but I'll take him over the lamentably large vanilla contingent any day. And I don't merely mean in the interview room. Though he's on the wrong side of 30, he's a wonderfully entertaining player who's capable of some terrific shotmaking and -- almost like a bald Martina Navratilova -- has exceptionally compact, efficient strokes. He's also the kind of experienced grinder who can give impetuous players like Marcelo Rios fits. One of the brighter bulbs on tour, Tarango claims to have made more playing the market last year than he did in prize money ($496,791). You're right that, barring the unlikely, he'll be best remembered for Bruno-gate -- and his wife, Benedicte's, subsequent Hewitt, er, Mike Tyson imitation. That's unfortunate, given that he's been a solid top-100 player for more than a decade and made more than $3 million in prize money.
I figured if you can answer Steve Guttenberg questions, then mine won't sound so silly. Could you please explain why tennis players wear watches while on court? It's just one of those little things that has bugged me for years. Not silly at all. In most cases, it's because they're being paid to endorse the product. Rolex and Rado, for instance, are both big tennis sponsors. In other instances, it's so the players can arrive on time to cocktail hour.
You left out the best trick-shot artist of them all (and a terrific player to boot) -- Yannick Noah. Good point. Noah, who's playing in the -- want to feel old? -- seniors event this week, is generally credited with popularizing the through-the-legs shot. I still say Mansour Bahrami is the king of clown princes.
Re: Tennis in the movies/on TV. Don't forget, Jaime Somers (The Bionic Woman) was a professional tennis player before that parachute disaster destroyed both legs, one arm and one ear (effectively ending her tennis career). Then again, with that "reconstructive surgery" she received, she might still be dominating the women's (and men's) tours, but for payback to Oscar Goldman and OSI. Right.
Send a question to Jon Wertheim, and check back the beginning of each week to read more of his answers.
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