Bleachers' Brew #72 Swiss Perfection

This will appear in my Bleachers' Brew column in the September 3, 2007 edition of Business Mirror.

SWISS PERFECTION
by rick olivares

There’s this commercial that perfectly sums up all you need to know about The Man.

“He was born in Basel, Switzerland. He started playing tennis when he was six years old. He could have been a soccer pro but he chose tennis. He once had a temper but he found his cool and became a champion. His forehand is feared by all. He is the only player to win three major three times. He’s definitely the man to beat. His name is Roger Federer and he’s won 11 majors and counting.

“But my name is Tiger Woods and I have 12 majors and counting. So keep up, buddy.”

Hold that thought, Tiger (I’ve been dying to say that for the longest time so let Le Tigre sue me)! Roger is the prohibitive favorite to win his fourth straight US Open and be the first man since Bill Tilden in 1923 to turn the trick. He’s got a 23 match-win streak at Flushing that will in all likelihood extend itself. Not to mention a very good chance of surpassing (my all-time fave tennis player) Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Slams. You think Rafael Nadal with his warrior’s heart can topple the King (of Queens, New York)? Andy Roddick? Better sub Jimbo he might put up a better fight. Nikolay Davydenko? He’s an up-and-comer, but until he beats Federer, Nadal, or Roddick, he’ll always have that mental disadvantage when the going gets tough. When Jelena Jankovic was hypothetically asked what she’d do were she to face Federer in a match, the Serbian beauty thought for a moment then said, “Wear a real short skirt and hope he gets distracted.”

Martina Hingis certainly can relate to being placed on a pedestal where any talk of her game was simply Jordanesque. Some of the world’s great players and observers like Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Mary Carillo, and Evert among others would try to outdo each other by heaping glowing praise on the young player. In addition to her five career grand slam singles titles, Hingis seemed to have all the “youngest to…” records in the WTA under her name before a series of injuries not to mention her petulance got the better of her. Like that time when she said that Steffi Graf was old and slow and the German great went on to beat her after being three points away from losing the 1999 French Open. The Parisian crowd, already infuriated with the Swiss teen’s comments and constant complaining during the game, mercilessly heckled her to tears as Hingis choked and ultimately lost.

Last year, she came out of a three-year retirement to win two tournaments and nearly make the semi-finals of this year’s Australian Open. Is she better than ever? Not necessarily. The men’s and women’s game has changed drastically since she last held serve. It’s a power game now where matches are won on baseline volleys that beget unforced errors. Net rushers who make up for their lack of power by hitting a variety of sharply angled serves, lobs and drop shots are now overpowered and run off the court. And that is Hingis’ game and weakness.

I’ve immensely enjoyed her comeback except for her trademark barbs that crop up once in awhile. And the current US Open is one that I have keenly followed. You see 10 years ago, Martina Hingis won her very first grand slam title in New York. She’s had the luck of the draw where she was bracketed in the supposedly less competitive part of the draw. With Maria Sharapova ousted by relative unknown Agnieszka Radwanska, Hingis has a shot at the semi-finals and maybe, just maybe, one last major title before she packs it in.

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If Jelena Jankovic wearing a mini-skirt will be an on-court distraction, then I’ll gladly take that over these nitwits who untimely intrusion may have cost a game.

A couple of days after the baseball’s fashion police accosted Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona for possible improper dress decorum during the middle of a game (an incident that has come to be known as “shirtgate”), it’s eight-time slam champion Serena William’s turn. And for reading notes during a changeover!

Williams makes it a point to check her notes (that she writes for herself) every now and then so she knows where she’s at in her game plan. Nothing wrong with that. It isn’t as if her loud-mouthed father, Richard, handed them to her and it’s certainly unlike Yuri Sharapov who sends signals on what his daughter Maria should do that is a form of blatant cheating. Williams contested chair umpire Damian Steiner, who told her to put away her notes, and she prevailed. A tournament official afterwards said that a player may read whatever they want provided they brought it in with them before the match.

A couple of Williams’ compatriots also used to read between breaks. There was former world No. 1 Jim Courier who found Armistead Maupin’s Maybe the Moon, a story of a dwarfish woman with a strong personality, hard to put down that he would try to end the set and match as quickly as he could so he could go back to reading.

And there’s this certain player by the name of Pete Sampras who once read notes and letters from his wife, actress Brigette Williams, during changeovers while fashioning out victories over some plenty good tennis players like Patrick Rafter and Andre Agassi.

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I have been a longtime tennis fan. Not some Johnny-come-lately who developed a stiff neck and a bad case of uncontrollable drool when a fashion line of Russian and eastern bloc girls came out in the wake of Anna Kournikova. As much as I loved football, baseball, basketball, and hockey, I watched tennis as well back when the only one worth looking at was Chris Evert. Boy, was I was a McNasty fan. Oh yeah, remember that “you vile piece of trash… vultures…the pits of the world” diatribe against umpires and line officials? There was Jimbo, Ivan Lendl, Bjorn Borg, and later players like Boris Becker! Ain’t seen anyone throw themselves on the court they way he did although Rafa Nadal certainly comes close.