|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Overdue accolades Congrats to all those who had the mettle to medal
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will answer your tennis questions weekly. Click here to send a question.
So what was the deal with NBC not giving any coverage to Monica Seles
during the Olympic medals presentation? I'm still miffed with them for the
slight. And why doesn't anyone mention her consistency this year, always
performing deep within a draw? She will beat the sisters soon, maybe this
weekend. I look forward to seeing her here in Philly for the
Advanta.
Maybe Seles didn't have the story of pathos and heartbreak that was all but a pre-requisite for any athlete featured on NBC. It's not like she was a former champion who was struck down by a madman in the prime of her career and never regained her toehold. Oh wait. Never mind. Seriously, for all of the faults -- and there are many -- with NBC's Olympic coverage, giving the short shrift to Seles' medal presentation wasn't one of them. They gave us Venus on the medal stand and that was enough. Unless your heart is so hardened it rattles around your rib cage, you're rooting for Seles to win every time she takes the court. But let's be realistic, Joseph. For all of her consistency, she hasn't beaten anyone ranked higher than her all year. Particularly now that she's nursing a foot injury, I can't see her taking her down the Williams juggernaut any time soon.
I'm sure you have a good reason for not putting Seles on your "Hot
List" for Oct. 2. I would like to know what it is. The gold and silver medalists were on your list, but why not the winner of the bronze? Is it not an accomplishment to win a bronze medal at the Olympics? If Seles had been in the top half of the draw with Davenport, the silver would have been hers hands down. Monica also beat Serena Williams in Japan at an exhibition match. Though Serena is ranked lower than Monica, it was the first time she beat her. What does she have to do to get on your "Hot List" anyway?
If I really wanted to play devil's advocate, I would say that Seles was the de facto third seed and lost in the semis. If this were any other tournament, it wouldn't have been a remarkable achievement. But you're probably right -- the Olympics are different and I should have included her. My "good reason" is that I already had more "ad-ins" than any other previous hot list. Let's give overdue props to bronze winners -- Seles, Arnaud DiPasquale, Al Costa and Alex Corretja, and Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans.
Are you serious? Since when did losing to Kafelnikov on hardcourt become an
AD-OUT (as per Guga at the
Olympics)?
You're right that you a player could do worse than losing to Kafelnikov, but I stand by this one. Guga was the top seed and should have been Downy fresh after blowing out of the U.S. Open so early. Is it an epic upset, losing to Kafelnikov? No. But Kuerten was the odds-on favorite for gold and came away sans medal. And anyone who saw him at Ericsson or Indianapolis knows that he's more than proficient on hard courts. Speaking of..
Please indulge a frustrated fan, and explain this to me: Gustavo Kuerten has
an awesome backhand, a great forehand, a good serve, solid ground strokes and
good movement. How, then, does he manage to bomb out against much lower-ranked
players, like Wayne Arthurs, Alexander Popp, and Sebastien Lareau, while playing
well against other top players -- Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in Miami, Magnus
Norman and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Paris, Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin in
Indianapolis? What the hell is wrong with this
picture?
You may have answered your own question. Maybe like a similarly scraggly Kafelnikov, Guga can bring the goods against the top guns, but can't get up for the also-rans. In August, I saw him play a dog of a set against Todd Woodbridge(!) in Indianapolis. Kuerten survived and few days later looked borderline brilliant in a riveting three-set final against Safin. It's too early to push the panic button, but I agree that his results have been both disappointing and puzzling since the French.
Is the WTA year-end ranking in the hands of Martina Hingis now? Lindsay is
injured and it doesn't seem that Venus will be playing a lot of tournaments
during these last few months of the
season.
The reports are Davenport is supposed to be back to playing this week. Your point is well taken, though. Particularly now that Hingis won the Filderstadt event, the No.1 ranking is almost assuredly hers. Davenport remember, is the reigning champ at both Philly and Chase, so she's defending truckloads of points.
Jon, week after week your insight and humor draws me to the Tennis Mailbag; I
gotta have it! I have a question for you: There are visible African-American
females in the tennis world but where are the men? Steve Campbell from Detroit
was thrilling for a couple of tournaments two years ago and disappeared. This
kid from Brooklyn, Levar Harper-Griffith, was invited to Zimbabwe with the Davis
Cup team and I haven't heard anything about him since. I saw Harper-Griffith in
person at the 1999 U.S. Open -- playing doubles with Andy Roddick in the juniors
-- and he looked like he could swing it. Do you have any idea if Campbell is
still playing? And is Harper-Griffith for
real?
First the bad news. You're right. The African-American presence on the ATP Tour, (notwithstanding Mal Washington's sideline reportage), is negligible. James Blake is a nice kid but doesn't appear to be even top-50 material; Steve Campbellis in his 30s and I believe he's through playing; Harper-Griffith is a bright prospect but he's still unproven and his early results have lagged behind those of contemporaries Roddick and Mardy Fish. The USTA has been better about grassroots funding and growing the game, but it's still an embarrassment that there have been no African-American Grand Slam champs since Arthur Ashe. The good news: Thanks in large part to two sisters from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., more African-Americans than ever are taking up the game. A full quarter of the sport's new players in 1999 were black; more blacks than ever have top-50 national rankings in various age groups; a recent Chilton/ESPN poll indicates that a greater percentage of blacks than white classify themselves as avid tennis fans. I realize that this encouraging statistical evidence doesn't necessarily translate to more black pros. But you have to be optimistic that an increasingly diverse player base will eventually manifest itself on Tour.
Why have tennis players who can't win or play offer tennis tips? Players such
as Anna Kournikova and Alexandra Stevenson are basically young has-beens. Why
not get real players like Hingis, Davenport and Venus/Serena to give advice?
Advice and tips from winners are more helpful than those from
losers.
That's pretty harsh. Particularly coming from a self-titled goddess. First, Kournikova does have a barren trophy cabinet, but she's still among the top 20 players in the world. I'm not quite sure she's a loser. The bigger point is that one doesn't need to be a champion to offer helpful tips. Otherwise Nick Bolletieri would be out of a job.
Hello, Jon. Please list the five UNCONVENTIONAL (i.e. should not be taught
for beginners) best tennis strokes (shots) in
history.
Hello, Duong. You win the most random question of the week award. I'd say: 1) The Venus Williams full-swinging volley from behind the service line can lead to disaster. (This concludes personal testimonial section of today's show). 2) The Slam Dunk overhead (a pulled back waiting to happen). 3) Any Agassi-esque strokes that entail leaving your feet. 4) Anke Huber's forehand. 5) The Safin/Rios/Clement one-legged backhand.
Since Pete Sampras has married Bridgette Wilson, will he fall victim to your
theory of married ATP players and play poorly from now
on?
He's toast. Wilson wins an Oscar before Pete wins another Slam.
Click here to send a question or comment to Jon Wertheim's Tennis Mailbag.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
