CAN THE DJOKER CARRY TENNIS?

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.", 

- Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare (Act III, Scene I)

First, it was the big story that wasn't - Serena Williams, poised to win her record tying 22nd major and the calendar slam, suffered a collosal case of nerves and lost a match that nobody thought she could.  ESPN did their best to turn the 2015 US Open into the Serena Show, but somebody forgot to tell Roberta Vinci, and instead of her coronation, we got a whole lot of very disappointed celebrities.

Then the Australian Open came with an attachment:  a story on BuzzFeed about the continuing problem of match-fixing and the (intentionally) dormant effort on the part of tennis authorities to address it.  There was no specific evidence, other than ill-defined, poorly explained statistical analysis that points to the likelihood of match-fixing, or compromised betting patterns.  But the stain is not easily removed, and in many ways, we're all still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Next Serena Williams lost the Australian Open final, and the Indian Wells finals - two tournaments that you probably couldn't have placed a bet on her losing if you wanted to.  One title lost to Angelique Kerber, who has since collapsed under the weight of expectation, and the other to Victoria Azarenka, who seems to have shed some of the excess baggage she'd picked up since winning the Australian Open in 2013.  Suddenly Serena doesn't seem so invincible, and the running story that isn't a story, makes another appearance at Roland Garros before genuine questions will start to be asked, which at the moment, everyone is too afraid to ask:  what's wrong with Serena?

Then Maria Sharapova, the most marketable female athlete in the world, a woman who is reviled and admired the world over, in equal measures, for looking like a prom queen who happens to play tennis, failed a drugs test?  There had been, for years, unjustified suspicion of Serena Williams, because...well..she looks like Serena Williams.  After all, it was Andy Roddick who joked that she was benching small dump trucks at age 11, so it shouldn't really come as any surprise that she looks like this today.  That's why it was all the more shocking that of these two racquet toting divas, the one snared in a drugs fiasco was Her Siberianess.  What the penalty will be for her failed drugs test, which she has neither disputed, nor satisfactorily explained to any and all, is as yet unknown.  But that has been a story that is just waiting in the wings to come back and haunt the game.  

Mark this space...

Rafa Nadal continues to struggle, despite making some progress in Indian Wells before losing tamely to his nemesis.  He has no titles in 2016, his last title was on clay in Hamburg after Wimbledon, and his spring clay court career victory lap around South America has elicited no silverware to bite, and little confidence on the part of his admirers around the world.  Most assume that his best bet to win his last another major will be at Roland Garros this year, but few would count on that given that somebody out there appears to be the best player in the world on the surface, and incredibly he is not from Spain.  If you're holding your breath for Nadal to add to his tally of 14 of the crowned jewels in the kingdom of tennis heaven, I would suggest you grab a canister of oxygen until you can find someone else to support.

Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka are still in the mix; two-time winners at the two majors that the other has not won (together they make an "other slam"...as in someone other than the real big 3).  But neither of them has exactly been burning down the house lately.  To be fair to Wawrinka, he is still the holder of the title at Roland Garros, but we see how heavy was the crown in Australia last year when the third installment of his Aussie trilogy went the way of God's chosen one.  Does anyone get the feeling that Wawrinka's best chance to win a major is to surprise everyone - not the least of whom, himself - lest he crumble under the immeasurable pressure to prove himself anew to the history of the game?  Don't look now, but Murray hasn't won a major in almost 3 years - it doesn't sound like much, until you remember that the likes of John McEnroe, Mats Wilander didn't win any majors after the calendar ticked off it's 365th day from their last.  Lendl and Edberg, by far greater champions than His Irascibleness, didn't go more than 2 years before adding to their major tallies, once they'd figured out how to win a big one...any big one.

Finally, after doing his best Serbian disappearing act 4 times on the trot, Roger Federer, who hasn't won a major in 4 years (that's four years), just had...wait for it...surgery on his knee (cue the melodramatic gasp and clutching of the chest).  Now that doesn't seem like much to shake a stick at, but I can tell you that one of the reasons the tennis world has continued to delude itself into believing that what passes itself off as a rivalry still walks like a duck, is that we are yet to be convinced that what we're witnessing is anything other than the dominance of one at the expense of the other.  We've done so because the unique combination of Federer's athletic prowess appears to persist, but for one glaring exception.  Not so much anymore, following a surgery that for a younger man would be difficult to recover from - let alone a man old enough to be his drunk uncle who just doesn't know when to quit.

When Ray Moore fell on his sword (in more ways than one) I was of the opinion that his comment was not directed at women playing professional tennis, so much as it was a diatribe against the leadership (or the lack thereof) at the WTA.  And when he said that the women ought to be down on their knees thanking God that "Fedal" are still making a nuisance of themselves, I tended to agree with him, or at least accept the proposition as a disconcerting one.  But something just occurred to me that ought to be way more disconcerting for the whole game of tennis, let alone the WTA:  exactly who will be minding the store when the Roger & Rafa show takes a permanent hiatus?

That's where the really scary question comes:  can Novak Djokovic carry tennis?  

It's not a scary proposition because of anything he has done...well, not exactly.  But it's not as if the man isn't playing tennis at the highest level it's ever been played.  He has, after all, contested 5 major finals in a row, won 4 of them - actually he has gone around the world and basically won everything he's entered since January of 2015.  He still makes jokes, he's still the nicest guy you could ever hope to meet, the kind of guy that would help you change a tire in the snow...literally.  He'll do any talk show you can think of, in any language you can imagine, including a couple that you can't.  He's a young, handsome 28 year old newlywed father, his parents (with fleeting exceptions) have largely removed the target from his back, his coach has shockingly done a job that I didn't think he had in him, and there are even jokes being made about the inevitability of his victories on that bloody 36 by 72 foot rectangle with the funny lines?

So why can't he carry tennis?

Is it a conspiracy against him?  Are the grey men of tennis looking down their noses at him, like the jury on Krypton, passing judgment on General Zod?  Has the (not yet) dominant PR machine of Roger Federer, Tony Godsick and Team8 laid the groundwork for his denial from the kingdom of Mount Rush(the net)more?  Does his messianic father still get under people's skin with one idiotic proclamation after another - causing even his own son to distance himself from the craziest of the crazy things he says?  Does he himself put his foot in his mouth, when a more nuanced, more diplomatic, more neutral and...dare I say...more Swiss approach would serve him better? 

My theory is this:  no single star can carry tennis.  It has never been the case that one single player can carry the game of tennis to greater heights, nor bear the weight of the tennis world on his shoulders like a racquet wielding Atlas.  

Big Bill Tilden had little Bill Johnston, Budge had von Cramm, Gonzales had Hoad, Laver had Rosewall, Billie Jean had Margaret Court, Chrissie had Martina, Connors had Borg, Borg had McEnroe, Becker had Edberg, Agassi had Sampras, Federer had Nadal.

But who gapes for the crown of Novak Djokovic?  Competitively, he has in the past been the chaser, and he has had rivalries that are currently diluted where an unjust escape and one competitive set in two played constitutes a good week, but can he alone carry the sport as it appears he may have to?  There is a myth out there that pencil pushers, marketing mavens and sporting bureaucrats can steward the game to success.  That there's some magic formula out there of sex, jokes, celebrity friends and fireworks that can make the game something that it isn't in spite of what it is.  But I have my doubts...I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't a little like the way the real star of the Star Trek franchise isn't James T. Kirk, or Jean-Luc Picard, or Kathryn Janeway...the real star is the Starship Enterprise.  

It survived years of going where no man has gone before, several captains, battles with Klingons and the Borg, and everything in between, and even in another space/time continuum, it survives.  And the guys Ray Moore and the rest of us are looking for to steer the ship are a bit like the passengers on the Enterprise - they may know where all the buttons are, but their fate is really in her hands.

Well, the rivalries, not the players, are the enterprise.  Try as we may to heap all the credit and responsibility on those at the head of the table, it's the ones at the foot of the table that make the ship sail.  And as it stands today, Novak Djokovic is alone at the top of the pyramid competitively, and may also find himself alone figuratively as well.  The throne is an enchantress for the boy who would be king, but as the saying goes:  be careful what you wish for.  There is an old Czech joke about an old man chasing a beautiful and seductive young woman being like a dog chasing a mail truck - even if he catches it, he doesn't have the first damn clue how to drive.  

And with Djokovic's missteps at Indian Wells taking over the news cycle, and subsequent apology and brief PR campaign tour to make up for it, there have to be more than a few people in the halls of tennis' bureaucracy that are wondering if Ray Moore's comments about the WTA could just as well apply to the ATP?  The truth is, they are no more responsible for the success of the game than he is, but the welcome perception, and indeed the unjust expectation, that Novak Djokovic will be, now that he is by far the best player on the planet (male or female), could prove a crown too heavy for his head.

BUD COLLINS - ONE OF A KIND

They don't make 'em like Bud Collins anymore...they really don't.  I like to say, and often tell myself, that I love the game.  And then I think about Collins and the integral role he played in brining the US Open to television, the multiple and essential books on tennis history that he penned, and the thousands of hours he spent on television, over the last 50 years, putting the "color" in color commentary.

And he kind of makes me feel like I don't know what the meaning of love is.

I don't want to bore you with an obituary - the idea of attempting to sum up the life of a man, so varied, so mercurial, in so many words is as intimidating as it is useless.  That doesn't tell you who the man was.  I my opinion, the devil is in the details.  The way he spoke, the way he wrote, the way he pondered before asking questions of some of the greatest players in the history of the game, a history with which he was so intimately familiar.

To me that's what I remember and have always loved about Bud Collins.

I grew up with "Breakfast at Wimbledon" on NBC - the tradition of the tournament mirrored by the inviting familiarity of the format - the magisterial intro and the somber yet celebratory close - and I can honestly say that I enjoyed the idea of Collins interviewing first the runner-up, then the champion, every year as a perfect bookend to the overall experience of the tournament.  The reason I enjoyed his interviews was not for what he did, but for what he didn't do.

He didn't presume the answers in the question.

He didn't presume himself in the question.

He didn't patronize the runner-up.

He didn't gush over the champion (...well maybe just a little...).

The master interviewer is often confused with asking obvious question, but the question is only obvious if you presume the answer.  And Bud Collins never did.  Most interviewers (myself included)  are insecure, and feel compelled to justify their presence before a great player, and it is precisely that desire the elicits the worst questions and the most boring answers.

"How did you find the reserves of character and the mental strength to overcome losing such a close set?"

"How good does it feel to prove the naysayers wrong that said you couldn't win the big one?"

"We talk about all the things that make you who you are, but really, it's what's between the ears that makes a champion, right?"

"How great was the crowd support tonight?  Did you use their energy to spur you on to victory?"

These are all exactly the wrong ways of asking questions.  But notice the subtle and brilliant charm, the genuine humility and obvious admiration for, and love of, the players that make the game what it is, in this selection of interviews of Wimbledon champions and runners-up over the years.

Borg v McEnroe 1980

This interview is brilliant.  Following their titanic final in 1980, he got both McEnroe and Borg to admit that they were each certain that Borg would lose the 5th set.  And in so doing, revealed and buried the absurdity of the notion that one must believe they're going to win in order to win.

Note the simplicity of the question he asks Borg after he admitted he thought he would lose the match.  "Why did you win?"  Isn't that the question that should always be asked of the victor?  How often do you hear that asked, couched with qualifiers and presumptions, rather than stated plainly?  And Borg's answer revealed itself to be both elucidating and educational - for that matter McEnroe's as well.  In fact, McEnroe's answer, cathartically rational as it was, must have done much to help him deal with the pain of the loss.  After all, how can you win an advantage set without any break points - obviously Borg won because he shut the door with his serve, and McEnroe opened his.

Evert v Mandlikova 1981

In this interview with the women in 1981, he demonstrates his candor and his compassion in the simplest of questions to Hana Mandlikova, who clearly wasn't at her best on the day, and closed the interview just as soon as he realized she just couldn't take it anymore.  And as she parted, as was his way, Collins said goodbye to her in probably the worst Czech accent in the history of Czech accents, but I guarantee she didn't mind.

And while some (like Billie Jean King) cringed at his question to Evert about her becoming the first 4-time consecutive runner-up in history, her response demonstrated her grace and perspective, so effortlessly you almost forget the question.  King, on the other hand, as a tennis player and analyst, insisted on imposing her view of Chris' movement in her question, which was almost immediately dispelled.  And Collins' closer, "What did you do best today?" drew out the obvious, "I didn't choke." as well as the analytical, "...she's so unpredictable that I was determined to win in 2 sets, because if it had gone to a 3rd set, it would have been out of my control."

Navratilova v Evert 1982

Now this one I really love - I don't know whose idea it was to have them interviewed simultaneously, but, note the prescience of Navratilova insisting that Bud interview Evert first, and his gentlemanly acquiescence.  Hey, nobody's perfect, but he didn't shy away from asking a couple of doozies, nor did Evert shy away from answering them.  The look in her eye, when she refuted the notion that Navratilova lost the second set due to an attack of nerves, was all you need to know about her as a competitor.  "No, I didn't - you know I think I played exceptionally well in the second set and won it fair and square."  But his follow up allowed her to go into tactical details that gives insight into her state of mind - she came in more often, approaching on her backhand, because that's her weaker side, and the difference came when she lost her serve - from there she couldn't recover.

He started the interview with Martina by addressing the assumption that she would choke, after she lost 5 games in a row, and entreated an analysis and explanation from her of how she turned it around.  And Navratilova admitted that she tried to play it safe and it nearly cost her the match...in fact, she was choking by playing it safe, and it wasn't until she returned to the mind set that the match still had to be won that she returned to the form that delivered the victory.  Finally, knowing the woman as well as the player, he insisted on reminding her, and everyone watching, that this was her first title as a American, which would have been so important to her, and certainly was to him.

Connors v McEnroe 1982

Now, McEnroe was ungracious in escaping the obligatory interview, which isn't obligatory at all.  It should be pointed out that Borg did the exact same thing the year before, when he lost to McEnroe, but Collins handled it graciously on both occasions and moved on to the champion.  Here, Collins inserts the qualifier that Connors nearly lost the match serving double faults up to the fourth set, and Connors responded by pointing to his concentration on the toss as his solution.  Collins returned to the assumption that Connors was too stubborn to change to compete with McEnroe (where have we heard that before?) and Connors returned to the changes on his serve, and the previously rarely seen serve and volley, to refute that.  Finally, the simplest question, was my favorite, "What do you think is the single biggest reason you're here as champion?"

McEnroe v Connors 1984

Here it was Connors turn to eschew the scrutiny of the runner-up interview, but Collins really hit it out of the park on this one.  First, with a simple statement, he allowed McEnroe to expound on the the key to the match, which was the quality of his serve, where he accurately guessed that he had served 70-75% first serves in the match.  Collins then revealed to him that he had only made 2 unforced errors, in the entire match, which surprised him, and led him to analyze that Connors, on the other hand, was not feeling as comfortable and nimble as he was.  Collins returned to the ignominy of McEnroe's defeat at Roland Garros, from 2 sets down, simply asking what the loss did do him, rather than imposing the assumption that it was a crushing defeat that he had to overcome.  McEnroe proceeded to reveal that he didn't let things bother him along the way, and Collins followed up by asking if the calm demeanor he displayed on the day helps his tennis, which McEnroe dispelled - deciding not to allow things to bother you is more important than not expressing one's emotions:  the chicken before the egg.

Navratiolva v Evert 1985

The technical analysis from both players in this one is so complete that Collins has to interrupt them with follow-ups, but they are perfectly appropriate.  First to correct Evert's recollection of a point he thought was pivotal, but once he realized she didn't think enough of the point to even remember it, he didn't belabor it.  As for Navratilova, he let her know that she had come in on nearly every point of the match, which Navratilova noted was how the men do it, so why should she do it any differently (good point).  After Navratilova mentioned that Evert had been favored by many to win the match, Collins wanted to know if it surprised her, Navratilova explained that although she was playing well, every match is it's own self-contained entity, and Evert hadn't faced anyone like her.  He closed with a little history and a compliment to the champion.  What a gentleman.

Becker v Curren 1985

Here Collins interview of the vanquished really says something:  first he asks the simple question, "Not an easy afternoon for you, what will you remember about it?"  The next question really zeroes in on Curren's biggest issue, the failure of his serve, and Curren explains the difference between McEnroe and Connors return and Becker's - the topspin kept the ball down and compromised his first volley.  And the hilarity of Collins obsession with Becker's scuffed up knees is classic Collins.  Becker, for his part, is very analytical for a 17-year old, and his gracious showing of Becker's parent's reaction was so different, and so good.

Agassi v Ivanisevic 1992

Ivanisevic's interview consisted of two questions in 60 seconds - the first, the most obvious, what was the difference in the match, to which Ivanisevic proceed to give the keys to each set individually.  Collins interrupted once, for his second question of what happened at 4-5 in the 5th, where Agassi broke to win the title, and in his simplicity, Ivanisevic revealed that the wind kicked up, he was nervous and he choked, essentially.  But imagine if he had been asked if he had choked?  Brilliant.


Sampras v Courier 1993

Here Collins reveals some multi-tasking:  in the middle of his interview with Courier, he hears Sampras say that he was tired, which may have informed his question to Courier of whether he thought a fifth would favor him.  Sampras then reveals that his fatigue was due, in part, to feeling sorry for himself, from which he quickly recovered.  With his simple question about the difference in the match, Sampras revealed it was his second serve return.  He then revealed that he had seen the semi-final with Edberg where Courier was teeing off on his second serve returns, so he mixed up the second serves.  That also happened to be Courier's assessment:  that Sampras was hitting two first serves, while he was hitting only one.

Isn't it amazing how, with simple questions, both interviewees basically confirm each others' analyses?

Final Thoughts

In 2009, Andy Roddick lost a 6-hour, five set Wimbledon final to Roger Federer - his third final, all loses to the same player, but this one painfully ended with only his second break of serve throughout the grueling encounter, 14-16 in the final set.  Reporters packed the room to ask innumerable questions and Roddick, while gracious with his time (if not always his behavior on court) did what men do under the circumstances and answered every question honestly, analytically and completely.  By the end of the press conference it seemed he was more fatigued from talking about it that from the match.  Although he had suffered a debilitating hip injury during the match (which he never mentioned), Bud Collins had to know that he was hurting physically and in his heart, and that by the end, he he needed nothing more than for it to end.

The human in him insisted that his "question" be that last, in his own inimitable way, when he interrupted yet another question with this suggestion:

"Bud Collins:  Liberate this man.  Well done, Andy
Andy Roddick: Thank you."

I have a feeling that Roddick's "thank you" was directed at Collins for doing just that.

Speaking of the human in him, my father met Bud Collins once years ago at a book signing, where Collins addressed him as "Citoyen" which is the french word for Citizen.  Why would he do that?  Because Bud Collins was a man first, and a journalist second, and he knew that people from the Republic of Zaire (as the Democratic Republic of Congo was known then) addressed each other formally, as "Citizen".  He knew this, of course, because he had been to Congo to cover the Muhammad Ali heavyweight title fight in Kinshasa against George Foreman in 1974, and he would have known to say this to my father because...well, he asked him where he was from.

Book signings are a way to sell books for the author - nothing gets buyers in the store like a chance to breath the same air, so to speak.  But even though it may have cost him a minute and a dollar, he spent it finding out one simple thing about him before obliging him with an autograph.  And in that brief moment, he gave my father, a man who picked up the game of tennis at 30, and still plays it 3 times a week at age 74, a thrill that he still talks about today.

And I suspect that the reason Bud Collins was so good at what he did, at least in part, was because of how good of person he was.  I doubt anyone who had the pleasure of meeting or knowing him would disagree.

And there's nothing better you can say about a man on the occasion of his passing.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON NICK KYRGIOS...PLEASE

Okay, I'll take the bait - I am a tennis fan after all, and even the silly stuff gets my ears perked up like a German Shepherd.  And if you're reading this, you've heard of the comment Kyrgios made on court last night during his injury driven victory over Stan Wawrinka.  If you missed it, here's a link to as much of the story as you can handle - believe me.  It's not the worst thing I've ever heard in the heat of a sporting battle, but as far as tennis goes, he may as well have hurled the n-word.

Don't get me wrong - he's been a right pain in the arse for a while now, and deserves the derision he's on the wrong end of, but this idea that he should be punished for a stupid locker room dig at Wawrkina (and Vekic, for that matter) strikes me as being more than a bit over the top.  And this got me thinking:  what is the worst thing I've ever heard on a tennis court?  Depends on your definition of "the worst", I suppose.  I've been watching tennis for 30+ years, and I've seen a lot - and that may be one of the cattiest things I've heard from player to player - but is it the worst?  I don't know.  

You be the judge...

Davis Cup 1987 - John McEnroe to a Linesman

This one may surprise you, because we've all heard the worst of the worst at Wimbledon and the US Open where McEnroe has told umpires and linesman everything from:

"You guys are the absolute pits of the world, you know that?" 

to

"...this guy's an incompetent fool..." 

to 

"What do you want, Mr....whatever your name is...Mr. Incompetent?"

to

"You're a disgrace, and everyone here is a disgrace..." 

to 

"You're pathetic, you know that?  You're the worst umpire I've ever seen in my life!  You're never going to work another match if I have anything to say about it!" 

to 

"Answer my question!  The question, jerk!"

...and that's just what I can post without deleting expletives(--rimshot--)!  

But honestly that was peanuts compared to what he said to a linesman in Davis Cup match with Boris Becker in Hartford, Connecticut in 1987.  

Earlier in Becker's career, in 1985, McEnroe had ironically been in the position of chastising a young player who had the temerity to argue line calls - just let that sink in for a second - McEnroe giving it to Becker for arguing with the officials.  That day, he told Becker to "...try winning something before you start complaining."  Three months later Becker won Wimbledon - McEnroe's Wimbledon to be specific, as he was at that time the two-time defending champion - so the relationship had a rough start to begin with.

On a side-bar, that probably wasn't the worst thing Becker would hear in his career - that could go to what Pat Cash said to him during their 1988 Wimbledon quarterfinal.  As the two last winners of Wimbledon (Becker in 1985/1986, Cash in 1987) the match was tense from start to finish - except for one moment of levity where Cash, chasing down a drop shot, fell face forward over the net, and Becker - in jest - did the same a second later.  Cash was having none of it, and as they each returned to their respective sides of the net, he muttered, loud enough for Becker to hear, "You're a fucking smart-arse Kraut."  Becker paused, momentarily as if he contemplated physically assaulting him, but settled for blowing him off the court in straight sets instead.

But what McEnroe said, not to Becker, but to a linesman, that day in Hartford, during his first match against Becker, a 5 hour 22 minute back breaker for players and spectators alike, was far worse.  He had already said to Germany's captain, Niki Pilic, "You shut up, Niki!  God damn it!  Shut up!", when the tension of the match really got the better of him...yet again.  Feeling that the (largely American) line judges had been unacceptably objective in their calls, McEnroe told a black linesman who'd called a Becker ball good, "I didn't know they had black germans."  The linesman had at once been insulted for his race, and had his patriotism questioned - all for doing what we Americans would say was his job that day - to dispassionately call the lines.  He responded by lowering his head in anger and admirably finishing his shift.

McEnroe's said some pretty mean spirited things on a tennis court, most of which, if you asked him about it now, I'm sure he'd double down on it...assuming he remembers saying it.  Bill Scanlon (who had for years been a thorn in McEnroe's side - his own personal Brad Gilbert, so to speak) claims that McEnroe, in the middle of a match in 1981 in San Francisco attempted, in a perfectly calm and rational way, to explain to Scanlon that not only did he not deserve to be on the same court as him, but that he should do everyone there a favor and lose the match because nobody wanted him to win.  If it weren't so crazy, I wouldn't believe it, but believe it I do.  And I'm sure that, to this day, McEnroe would double down on the sentiment.  After all, who the hell was Bill Scanlon (but an NCAA champion who won six career titles and beat McEnroe at the 1983 US Open when he was the #1 player in the world, Wimbledon champion and had won the title for the third year on the trot two years two year earlier...but I digress)

But this comment to an American, I'm certain he would recant...well, maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't...but it was pretty bad.

2001 US Open, Lleyton Hewitt

For me, the greatest irony of the whole hullabaloo about this Kyrgios kid is that, of all people on the planet, the one he's turned to for guidance and mentoring is Lleyton Hewitt.  

Huh?

I know it's 2015 and he's retiring this year, but has it really been that long since Hewitt was cited for doing almost exactly the same things as has drawn so much derision for his young compatriot?  The list of transgressions is too long to cite every incident, so there is certainly enough fill this column with plenty to refer to "His Irascibleness".  How did Hewitt irritate the tennis world? 

Oh, let me count the ways:

There was his favorite expression to abuse linesman, whom he felt were, "...weak as piss..", his defamation suit against the ATP in 2003, in which he sought $1.5M in damages for being accused of (and fined for) skipping an interview.  In 2005 he once drew the ire of tennis' significant gay community by calling an umpire he disagreed with, "...a poof."  That was in addition to the myriad of his opponents whom he referred to as, "...arseholes...", or specifically the two Argentines whom he 1) shoulder bumped on a changeover (David Nalbandian 2005 Australian Open) and 2) whom he told to "fuck off" (Guillermo Coria) after he directed an overhead smash at Hewitt in a Davis Cup match in 2005.  The Argentine Davis Cup supporters, known for their contextual xenophobia, then coined (and joyfully chanted) this cute little soccer stadium style song:

"Y que paso, 
Y que paso, 
Que Lleyton Hewitt se cagoooo!" 

(translation: "And what happened?  And what happened?  Llyeton Hewitt shit himself!"

But, I would say the worst thing Hewitt ever said on a tennis court was this little delight in the second round of the US Open in 2001, where in a match against James Blake, he demanded the removal of a black linesman whom he insisted was making calls against him, and in favor of his black opponent, out of racial bias:

"Change him, change him immediately!  I've only been foot faulted at one end!  Look at 'im, look at 'I'm mate, and you tell me what the similarity is?"

Let's set aside the idiocy of Hewitt removing a black linesman because he was playing a black player.  I mean, how would it work out if every black player wanted every white linesman removed every time he felt he was getting rooked?  Let's also set aside the stupidity of actually vocalizing terrible thoughts that, if we're honest, go through everyone's head at the worst of times.  You can't help what you think, but you can certainly think twice before expressing the worst of your thoughts.  Is this what he'll be mentoring Kyrgios about?

I would say that the best thing that Hewitt could mentor Kyrgios about is how to apologize for one incident after another...that is, if Hewitt had ever apologized for anything...except to actual spastics after he called an umpire one in 2006.  In fact, in that incident with Blake he simply feigned ignorance, and flatly denied having said anything racial - after trying to sell that mess to the press, he may as well have tried to sell them some oceanfront property in Nebraska.  Maybe he sold it to Kyrgios, because for the life of me, I can't understand the logic behind being mentored by someone who was hated more than you.

Maybe Hopefully the mentoring is entirely technical, in which case I say, "Good on ye' mate!"  Nobody squeezed better results out of their natural-born abilities than ol' Rusty.

Serena Williams, US Open 2009

I'm not going to lie - I wanted to love Serena Williams, I really did...honest.  And if I had a shorter memory, I might have been able to get past the litany of things she's done and said that has placed her right at the top (or bottom, depending on your perspective) of my list of least favorite players on the WTA.  

When she insulted Martina Hingis for a lack of formal education, I found it more than mildly ironic for someone who has a degree in nothing. When she made that hullabaloo over "The Hand", I sided with Henin, because I thought if Serena saw the hand up, she shouldn't have served, and therefore she got what she deserved:  a second serve.  When, after having an overhead smash rightfully directed at her feet, she glared at Maria Sharapova in their Australian Open final of 2007 and muttered "bitch", unlike the Rod Laver Arena audience, I didn't think it was funny. 

But when she threatened to shove a ball down a lineswoman's throat at the 2009 US Open semi-final with Kim Clijsters and was defaulted only for a third code of conduct violation, that really took the cake.  Actually I thought she got off easy, because she should have been immediately defaulted from the entire tournament, including the doubles final, which she played and won with Venus.  But to me, almost as infuriating as the arrogance of her comment to the lineswoman, was the shameless attempt by her supporters to couch her outburst as simply swearing, then call the media and the USTA to task for having a double standard when men do the same - as if the issue was swearing.  There's nothing I hate more than comparing two unlike things, bemoaning the unlike reactions to them, and then claiming some "ism" as a result - mostly because it distracts from actual "isms"...but I digress.

I also thought it was an act of pandering when the USTA chose to give her only a suspended fine and suspension, which actually didn't expire until the week after her 2011 US Open final, where she was again cited for code of conduct violations.  The "sentence" still wasn't enforced, and I wasn't surprised that she didn't cite being black, or a woman, or the player to beat, for that bit of leniency, even though I suspect all of those contributed to it.  I thought it was absurd that she had the audacity to do to Jelena Jankovic the exact same thing Justine did to her, both at the Family Circle Cup in 2013, and again in Dubai last year.  It was just another in a long list of examples of entitlement that she has, in her view, "earned".

Oh well, nobody's perfect, but I've not heard anything worse on the women's side in a long time...6 years, to be exact.

Jimmy Connors, 1991 US Open

For some people, it was the greatest thing that happened to the US Open - in fact to a lot of people it still is.  Just ask anyone who's made it through an interminable rain delay in Flushing Meadows, watching that match again and again, until the image of Connors hilariously neon yellow racquet is burned into your retina.  This despite the likelihood that the most impressive performance was his encounter with Patrick McEnroe, who will unfortunately be remembered best (as a player, that is) for that memorable collapse, and his ATP final against older brother John in Chicago, that same year.  At this time I could point out that Patrick McEnroe should be remembered for winning French Open doubles in 1989, and making the semi-final of the Australian Open in singles in 1991...but I'd digress.

Connors had been away from the game for almost the entirety of 1990, due to a wrist injury that just wouldn't go away.  There were many who were prepared to write his professional obituary, and despite the fact that Connors had developed a certain cult following (with a certain late night crowd at the US Open) generally he had never really been fully appreciated in the tennis world as he is almost universally now.  In the beginning of his career, Connors irritated a lot of people simply by virtue of who he was beating so mercilessly on his way to winning 3 of 4 majors in 1974.  The beloved Ken Rosewall, at age 39, had never won Wimbledon, and Connors did more to cement his reputation as a ruthless competitor, by obliterating the sentimental favorite in the last throes of his career.  Rosewall, for his part, was emotionally trying to etch his name on the wall, 21 years after he lost his first final there to none other than Lew Hoad.  

When he did it again to Rosewall at Forest Hills, what few fans he had at the time, Connors squandered by deigning to do what anyone in his position would have - win big.  The manner of the defeat was the coup de grace from which his popularity wouldn't fully recover until that fateful fortnight in 1991.  It didn't help that, having been raised by women to compete with men, he had something of a chip on his shoulder, which also had him grabbing his crotch, and telling himself to take his skirt off when he felt he wasn't hitting the ball well.

Connors had made no friends by saying about those contemporaries that were less than enamored with him, "Most of these guys are windbags; if any of them wants to start some shit, I'll be ready..." back in his heyday.  He once sued the fledgling ATP (having refused to join it or its boycott of Wimbledon in 1973), and its president Arthur Ashe in 1975, for the part they played in him getting banned from the 1974 French Open, which most assumed he would have won along with the calendar slam that year, had he not insisted on playing World Team Tennis.  Curiously, the same fate had befallen Bjorn Borg in 1977, but somehow the derision readily directed towards Connors, was restrained when it came to his fair haired nemesis.  Speaking of Borg, Connors once told an interviewer, whilst in the midst of a desperate 10 match losing streak to Borg, "I'll follow that son a bitch to the ends of the earth until I beat him again."

In 1984, while getting his ass handed to him by John McEnroe at the semi-finals at Roland Garros, Connors famously wagged his finger in McEnroe's face and told him his 8-year old son behaved better than he did, and that he should grow up and shut up.  Mildly ironic to those who remembered him telling McEnroe to, "...keep your mouth shut when you're out here," in their 1980 Wimbledon semi-final.  Furthermore, he endeared himself to nobody at the US Open in 1977, when he ran over to the other side of the clay court in his 4th round encounter with Corrado Berazzuti to wipe out a mark the Italian was in the process of questioning. He would go on to lose that final to Guillermo Vilas, poetically on an equally dubious call which was overturned based on a mark in the clay.  Vilas is still waiting for his handshake from that match.

But 1991 was his moment, and while the world were enamored of his memorable run to the semi-final of the US Open, losing to Jim Courier, the tournament reached a kind of anti-climax when the heir apparent to his competitiveness (if not his behavior) put him out of his sweet misery before losing to Edberg in the final.  Connors had played Aaron Krickstein in 4th round in Louis Armstrong stadium, where his young "friend" suffered the ignominy of being the most memorable of 5 losers to Connors that year in his run.  And it was during that match, Connors uttered one of the more memorably disgraceful things ever said on a tennis court to umpire David Littlefield.  To start, he took issue with an overrule that Krickstein had suborned, saying:

"Get your ass out of the chair, you're a bum - you're a bum!  I'm out here playing my ass off, 39 years old, and you're doing that?  Very clear, my butt, my butt, very clear!  You wouldn't 'a said anything if Krickstein had gone over!"

Later, after another ball had been called long, which he didn't overrule, perhaps out of fear of getting involved unecessarily, Connors had this to say:

"Get the fuck out of here, god-damn it - you are abortion...you are an abortion!  Do you know that?"

To me, that takes the cake - the worst thing a good catholic kid from St. Louis could say to an umpire, and he said it twice.  Littlefield, to his credit, behaved entirely professionally, and didn't respond in kind, although it was his right to do so.  He didn't even cite him for a code violation, which in my opinion was a mistake, but who would have had the courage to do so under the circumstances?

For my money, I've never heard anything worse on a tennis court.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

I think a lot worse things have been said on a tennis court than somebody slept with your girlfriend a year ago, who may or may not have been your girlfriend at the time.  It's a daggy thing to say at any time...but under your breath, facing the other way, 90 feet away, I hardly think Kyrgios was saying it for Wawrinka to hear.  In the worst case scenario, it was a stupid thing to say, and may get him "Penn 1" tattooed on his chest the next time he faces Wawrinka, but hardly the equal of some of the more unsavory things cited above.

A little perspective never hurts...

2015 CITI OPEN FINAL: NISHIKORI V ISNER - BLOW BY BLOW

After a rousing rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, the audience, subdued perhaps by the heat, were lifted into the proper level of anticipation for a final that promises to be tight and enthralling. Wayne Bryan, one of the best things to happen to the Citi Open, brought his enthusiasm and energy to the proceedings by hitting balls into the crowd before the match. 

Isner is introduced first to an enormous ovation, as "Bad to the Bone" plays on the stadium speakers. Nishikori also receives a good ovation.  Isner comes out of his chair first, all smiles, bouncing up and down, and shaking hands. Nishikori saunters onto the court in no particular hurry, as is his wont.  Although Nishikori has the better pedigree, this being his 3rd final in DC, Isner appears to be the more relaxed player. I noticed that he humbly moved into the court to retrieve a ball during the warm up, while Nishikori calmly waited for it to be retrieved for him, though the ball was at least 5 feet closer to him than Isner's. 

Nerves?  Tension?  Habit?

Isner starts out firing on all cylinders, holding at love with two aces and two winners. Importantly his second serves are well overt 100mph, which seemed to be the tipping point for Cilic yesterday. Nishikori's first two serves are tame by comparison, but no less effective, hitting service winners and one cross court forehand winner from the center of the court.  Isner then follows up with another workmanlike hold before the first changeover.  His 1-2 combination is working, and will be key to his chances today if Nishikori returns the way we know he can and should - Isner is up 2-1.

Nishikori makes a nervous error on his first 1-2 combination, on a forehand error from the center of the court but recovers well with two service winners.  Isner put the pressure on with a huge inside out forehand return for 30-30, followed by inside-out forehand error.  Nishikori then gets to ad in with two forced errors in the rally to Isner's forehand.  Isner appears committed to applying maximum pressure on the return of serve.  But Nishikori draws first blood with a forehand return at his feet in the first point at 2-2.  Isner responds with two aces up the T, before Nishikori grabs a bite of a poorly placed serve wide at 30-15, before belting a cross court backhand winner to get his first break point.  Isner kicks it high on a second serve hit at 94mph, handling the break point, but Nishikori earns another with his feet as Isner dumps as forehand volley in the net after bossing him in the rally.  Isner saves again with an ace up the T again to earn a third deuce. Two huge serves later he holds for a 3-2 lead.

Nishikori hits an 82mph second serve which Isner jumps on to take the first point, but he runs Isner ragged on the next point, which elicits return errors in the subsequent two points to get to 40-15 - Isner looks really out of breath.  On game point he pulls Isner wide, then scores an easy 1-2 combination with a cross court backhand winner to hold.  Isner then gets a service winner, then loses the second point after Nishikori chips the second serve kicked wide in the ad court for 40-15. Nishikori then chases the wide serve in the deuce court with a Jimmy Connors like stretch return on the two hander, before eliciting a backhand error in the rally. Isner holds with a service winner and leads 4-3.

With a long rally in the first point again elcits a return error in the second for a 30-0 lead. He then turns the screws with a drop shot, and elicits a return error to win the game. Isner then gets to 30-0 after Nishikori misses a backhand pass. A return winner for 30-15 is followed by a kick serve to the backhand, but Nishikori puts pressure with another great forehand return. Under duress Isner hits a 113 second serve, and after a heavy inside out forehand approach Isner hits a drop volley winner to hold for 5-4.

Scoreboard pressure now on Nishikori, who ropes a backhand cross court with both feet in the air eliciting a backhand error. Nishikori then tries a forehand drop shot but misses the cross court passe before Isner takes a big cut in the rally to get to 15-30, then a big inside out forehand to get to double set point off of a 76mph second serve. He then takes the set with a solid forehand return up the line. The crowd erupts as he gestures towards his box.

One has the feeling that the return of serve, particularly the second serve return, will determine this match. Isner has put only one second serve under 100, which was a huge kicker, but Nishikori, under pressure dropped below the 90's several times which costs him the set. 

Nishikori starts the second with a huge cross court forehand, then another which rushes Isner into an error. He then hits a two handed half volley winner that clipped the net and a service winners to get to 30-30. Nishikori makes a long rally which Isner pushes a backhand long before acing. At deuce Nishikori for the third time belts a third forehand at Isner's feet. On break point he hits an ace wide that's challenged and overturned. He pushes a forehand wide and wastes a challenge - with his serve he wants as many of those in his pocket as he can get. 

Nishikori then consolidates with a jeu Blanche, including a first successful net approach off another great cross court backhand. Isner gets to 40-0 with his serve, but Nishikori puts him under pressure with a two good passes.  Isner then holds for 1-2. Clearly Isner's strategy is to unload even from the center of the court at the first opportunity. The idea is to put the result on his racquet win or lose.  He then calls for the trainer on the changeover to work on his right shoulder and the area between the shoulder and the neck. That appears to be an issue of fatigue.

Nishikori comes out before time is called to get loose, but still floats a forehand long on the first point. After a long rally, Nishikori pushes a backhand up the line wide to bring up 0-30. In the next three points Nishikori targets Isner's backhand, until he pushes him wide enough to open up the deuce court. Isner chubs a forehand wide on a 116mph body serve. Isner then hits three service winners and an ace to hold for 2-3.

The CMO of Citi is an Irishman who's father played Laver at the oldest club in the UK, which held the first women's tournament.

Nishikori starts out serving two aces in a row, followed by a service winner to get to 40-0. The first double fault of the match suggests nerves for Nishikori, but he holds with a forehand winner from the center of the court. It bears noting that the match is at least half over at the hour mark with Nishikori up 4-2. Both players grab a drink illegally during the ball change. Isner is still serving above 80% first serves, despite going down a break in the second. Nishikori is actually serving better than Isner winning 73% serve points to Isner's 67%, also returning better with 33% to Isner's 27%.

Nishikori serves his way to yet another jeu Blanche, and Isner's follows with 3 service winners. He does not appear to be spending much energy on the return, but on his serve he is resolute and holds to force Nishikori to serve it out.

This would be Isner's first 500 level win if he can pull it off.  The crowd raise their level of support to help him get there, but King Kei demands silence with a second serve ace followed by an Isner unforced error off the frame. Nishikori then belies his nerves when he hits his second double fault of the match before dumping in a 78mph second serve then an error. A good inside out forehand in the next point elicits an error in the net, but Isner belts a return to bring up deuce. Nishikori is down to 46% first serves this set. Nishikori holds after Isner hits it wide in the rally - in a Freudian slip he swipes away the mark on a close ball, though Isner doesn't challenge.

Isner is out of his seat early, but still starts with his first double fault of the match. He then earns the hold with 4 first serves in the high 120s/ low 130s range. Nishikori starts with a good serve on the first point, but Isner's focus has in erased palpably. He gestures to his box after eliciting an error off a low slice, then comes over a backhand return and polishes off a forehand volley winner and gestures again. Kei pulls a one two combination with a backhand cross court winner and an Isner makes an error for 1-1. Nishikori then hits a sliding backhand pass after an amazing return from the forehand. After an Isner ace, Nishikori belts another return at Isner's feet, eliciting an error, then another - this one a backhand to darn two break points. The break is complete when Nishikori frames a backhand return 6 inches inside the baseline which Isner jokingly tried to wave out before he realized it was going to land in. He hit a solid overhead, but from the baseline which Nishikori belted right back at his feet.

Nishikori hits a service winner, a backhand winner up the line then an inside out winner to consolidate the hold. Isner appears to be tired and the crowd impel him to keep his foot on the gas, with rhythmic claps of encouragement. Isner obliges with a service winner and a forced error, the another service winner on a wide serve in the deuce court. Isner finishes off the love hold with a 1-2 combination, fished with a cross court forehand winner.

Nishikori serves at 3-2, after massaging his thighs with ice packs during the changeover. That familiar subdued gait belies his concentration - he'll need it to deal with the scoreboard pressure. It a long way to go to consolidate a hold in the second service game. Nishikori elicits an error, the. Executes a leaping forehand winner up the line. Another forced error and a service winner consolidates the hold. Isner is now really facing scoreboard pressure now - a break would be fatal, as his fatigue is showing now piling up the unforced and forced errors. Isner holds when Nishikori nets a backhand slice approach after yet another scintillating return - he's making it look routine at this point.

Up 4-3, Nishikori can surely see the finish line, but he must concentrate - he starts with a 1-2 combination forehand winner to the ad court from the center of the court, and follows with a forced error. Isner then panicks and blast a second serve backhand return 6 feet wide (inside out). Isner gets his frustrations out with another wide serve in the deuce court followed by a massive inside out forehand winner. He follows up with two service winners to take the game and force Nishikori to serve it out.

Here is where Nishikori has been the shakiest all week. When serving under duress. The crowd implores Isner to prolong the match with supportive cheers, as a Georgia fan unfurls a banner in his view. Nishikori responds with another 1-2, then an irresistible backhand up the line that clips the baseline. A forces error sets up triple championship point which Nishikori takes with aplomb, tow forehands hit so well that Isner's dying resistance is put down with a backhand volley that Nishikori hits with his back to the court and exalts with relief at his victory. 

It's been a long week, with three three set come back wins, including two in succession over two of the biggest serves in tennis. Otsukare sama deshita!

CITI OPEN: A COLLEGE EDUCATION...FOR TENNIS PLAYERS?

A funny thing happened to me watching the last match on the Stadium Court at the Citi Open Qualifying yesterday, something that was at once surprising and eminently pleasing.  I pulled up a chair in the press box for the encounter between Alejandro Gonzalez, the 116^th ranked Columbian, and a player I’d never heard of before, Ryan Shane.  A recent graduate of the University of Virginia, he was granted a wild card this year as the NCAA champion, a perk afforded the best collegiate player in the country both here in DC, as will be the case for him at the US Open in Flushing Meadows.  

The player in the near court had an accurate, but altogether less than impressive serve, his forehand was contrived and hitchy, and the backhand was a double-fisted offering that was flat and penetrating, but indistinct from the majority of backhands I’ll see this week.  He looked edgy and uncertain of himself, not particularly comfortable, but he seemed to be holding his own.  Dressed in a drab grey, an almost olive shirt, and black shorts, the blue topped shoes belied what was clearly an ensemble hobbled together at the last minute.  All the earmarks of an American collegian who’s probably just happy to be part of the show, and playing on the stadium court no less.

On the other side of the net was a player wearing perfectly coordinated neon yellow short, olive green shorts with neon yellow and teal trim, which flowed nicely into the teal laces of his olive green shoes – the soles of his shoes were also teal.  His forehand flowed more freely, and was far more penetrating than his opponents, his serve, flat and deceptively fast from the languid delivery, dove-tailed technically right into a marvelously fluid, deep penetrating, heavy spinning one handed backhand.  He didn't so much as shuffle from one side of the court to the other, as bounce, as though on springs, and the ease with which he positioned himself allowed him to control the center of the court repeatedly off of both wings.  I know  Latin flair when I see it, and his backhand and heavy forehand, which he hit as often from the ad as the deuce court, told me that this was obviously the Columbian.

But I got it all wrong.

It turns out that the expertly concocted (but concocted nonetheless) game was Gonzalez's (the Columbian), where the spectators were as likely to see a fist pump as they were a backhand winner up the line.  The one making the match worth watching, probing and pressing with every shot, consistently placing the ball in the right half of no man’s land, running around the backhand with aplomb and going inside in just often enough to make his inside out delivery all the more effective, was Ryan Shane, the American.

The emergence of a number of quality American players who’ve come through the ranks of collegiate tennis is nostalgic for many, harkening back to the days when the US Open champion was as likely to be a former NCAA champion as a former boys champion.  But as more money poured into the game, as a result of the exploits of the the Arthur Ashe (UCLA 1965), Jimmy Connors (UCLA 1971) and John McEnroe’s (Standford, 1978) of the world, the likelihood of a successful player on the ATP tour having played NCAA tennis diminished precipitously.  But the modern game, heavy as it is on players having their greatest success just before and just after they turn 30, stretches the horizon on the back end of one’s career, but more importantly, possibly on the front end as well. 

This means the prospect of losing out on the money available to young players who turn professional is the same as the prospect of coming into the professional game too early and burning out.   This might encourage players to seek a collegiate career, and as such, improve the quality of tennis played at that level.  And since players will be developing their games for longer before turning professional, and can have some measure of financial security (from a college education) without rushing into the pro's, we may even see players develop technical capacities that are lacking more and more in professional tennis at an alarming rate, such as serve and volley, one handed backhands, and touch and feel.  John Isner (University of Georgia), Steve Johnson (USC), Rajeev Ram (University of Illinois), are all players who made their name as top collegiate competitors.  Isner is a top 20 player, a persistent Davis Cupper and dark horse in any draw he enters, and Ram recently won the title Newport, his second professional title (not ironically coming at the same tournament where he won his first in 2009).  Their emergence suggests that the path of least resistance into the world of professional tennis (from the juniors), may not always be the most effective.

It turns out that Shane is a bit of an college tennis blue-blood, from a family that includes his older brother Justin, and younger brother Zachary, as well as fellow UVA alums who will also figure in the draw, Somdev Devaarman (a two-time champion in 2007 and 2008, who lost to Darium King in the first round of qualifying) and Treat Huey, an outstanding doubles specialist.  Unlike Devaarman, who was born and raised in India, and is only a tangential local, by virtue of his alma mater, Shane is almost as local as it gets.  He was born and raised in Fairfax Virginia, went to Jeb Stuart High school, and in all likelihood was a ball-boy here at the Citi Open for some of the players he would have faced this week.  The history of professional players who made their way to high achievement on the ATP is a long one, and while the best of the best still go straight from the juniors, Shane's unique technical symmetry, his comfort with and mastery of the subtleties of movement about the court, and that marvelous one-handed backhand he flings hither and fro like a frisbee, are a welcome development and gives hope to those of us who want to see more complete players come to the tour and play tennis a way more befitting the the awe and anticipation of tennis fans around the world. 

The breadth and depth of his game, and the force of his 6’4” frame bodes well for his future, as the professional game becomes as much a contest of athletic prowess as technical.  But he’s no slouch in the technical area either.  American coaches are encouraging young American players to hit with more and more spin off both wings, they typically have the innate advantage of having played ball throwing sports (which would give them a leg up in the muscle memory for the serve), and movement that would have been facilitated by an almost certain history of playing youth tennis on har-tru.  In 2009, Devon Britton wound up playing none other then Roger Federer in the first round, as the NCAA champion wild card recipient, so Shane's additional wild card here will do him great good.

I learned my lesson today – taking nothing for granted, and don’t assume anything about anyone you meet on the tennis court.  Professional players beware:  if you expect the guy across the net to be more nervous and less technical than you just because he played college tennis...he could just be expecting the exact same of you because you didn't.

ADDENDUM:

With egg on my face, I must admit that I neglected to include in the line up of NCAA champions at the Citi Open one Blaz Rola of Ohio State, who won the men's singles title in 2013 over Jarmere Jenkins of the University of Virginia.