Four years ago, I won a steak dinner at NYC’s Smith & Wollensky from a gentlemen’s bet that I had with a tennis insider. My winning bet was that more than 50% of the world’s top ten players (the ten men and the ten women, per the rankings at the start of the event) would pull out of the Athens Olympics before the start of the Games. Sure enough, only nine of the possible 20 players who took part, and I enjoyed my steak cooked medium rare.
Will the same happen again in 2008? Probably. It will be even more difficult for players to justify a trip to Beijing with the US Open, the world’s richest prize money tournament (lest you forget), beginning shortly afterwards.
Andy Roddick’s withdrawal has gotten a lot of attention, but I admire his forthrightness. Most players will feign an injury at the last moment to appear as though they “really wanted to be there.” Kudos to Roddick for telling it like it is: the US Open is the priority for tennis players.
It is great that our sport is part of the Summer Olympic Games, but foolhardy to think that players who grow up watching Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open finals will care as deeply for the once-every-four-years deal. A quick glance at the honor roll of medal winners supports this. Some all-time greats did receive medals at previous Olympics, but there are a lot of names that would be difficult for even hard-core tennis fans to recall. As the “ol’ perfessor” Casey Stengel used to say, you can look it up.
My family and I were having a holiday in the South of France two weeks ao, and I insisted that we make a pilgrimmage to the Monte Carlo Country Club, where Bjorn Borg spent so much time practicing. On one of the outside courts, the relentless Justine Henin was going through an on-court workout that would wear out any Olympic decathlete. She was also working on finishing points with her most potent weapon, her forehand. This stroke is more effective than, but often overshadowed by, her more aesthetically pleasing one-handed backhand. It is hard to envision her losing her crown at Roland Garros.
Of course, the tournament organizers in Indian Wells would have much rather seen the world’s #1 player in the Californian dessert than training on clay in Europe. Sadly, with the stubborn reluctance to modify the one-year-runs-into-the-next schedule of the international tour, players choose to make their own off-seasons. It seems that the time after the Australian Open ends in late January until March is becoming a “window” that more players will be using. It would be great to correct this one day.
After seeing Novak Djokovic winning in Indian Wells and reading more and more analysis of Roger Federer’s feelings toward the young Serb, I was reminded of a remarkable moment in boxing’s recent history. Roy Jones, Jr. was viewed as his generation’s pound-for-pound greatest, and one of the best boxers of all time. He won a disputed decision against Antonio Tarver, which led to their rematch. Jones had a few “explanations” for his sub-par performance leading into the second fight. When the boxers met in the middle of the ring for the pre-fight instructions, they were, as is customary, asked if they had any questions. “Yeah, I got one,” said Tarver, “You got any excuses tonight, Roy?” In an astonishing performance, Tarver knocked Jones cold in the second round.
To borrow from Antonio Tarver, we also “got” a few questions this week:
1) “What is your take on Roddick skipping the Olympics?”
~Arvind from India
See above. It is the right move for Roddick at this stage of his career. His decision will set a trend this summer. I’d expect Roddick to look to play in London 2012, which, again, would be the right move for him at that stage (unless he has a Barry Bonds-like second half of his career). Roddick will be just shy of his 30th birthday during the London 2012 Games, and will predictably get caught up in the “one more time” sentimentality. This year’s US Open will be among the last and best chances that Roddick has of enhancing his Hall of Fame career- and he is already a first ballot H-of-F’er.
2) I am an aggressive player, and I always tend to find a way to hit winners. I am a one-handed player for both forehand and backhand, I can do quite good on both sides, but sometimes I make many errors on my backhand, how do I improve that?
~Tony from Hong Kong
Despite your ability to always find a way to hit winners, I would urge you to play slightly more conservatively on your backhand and wait for the opportunity to use your forehand to full advantage. Think Fernando Gonzalez, who will roll, slice, and, of course sometimes, nail his backhand. When he gets a forehand, however, it is Katie Bar the Door.
Lastly, kudos to Rafael Nadal and David Nalbandian for playing in a friendly exhibition at the Palm Beach International Polo Club (on Har Tru!) on Tuesday evening. The event raised $50,000 for their respective charities, and Nalbandian was able to provide a favor for his buddy and fellow Argentine, Adolfo Combiaso, who is regarded as the world’s finest polo player.
