The best game in town

The sporting world has been rocked by scandal and foul play in recent years, most notably the federal investigation of illegal drug doping against BALCO and several marquis clients of the San Francisco-based cooperative. Some of the biggest stars in baseball and track and field have been implicated, leaving a bad taste in my mouth for much of professional sport.

In light of this, a closer look at the virtues of the men’s and women’s tennis tours seems in order.

Let’s begin with the game’s stars, the brightest of whom is Roger Federer. Many fretted that when Pete Sampras exited the game with his record 14 Grand Slam titles, his leaving would create a huge vacuum, with few young players showing the fortitude and drive to fill the void. The Federer Express has filled it convincingly, amassing three Grand Slam titles and going 11-0 in championship finals in 2004, repeating this feat in 2006 while three-peating at Wimbledon and the US Open. Displaying amazing grace under pressure, he’s done it mostly without the benefit of a coach. The murmurs of Roger rewriting the history books have become deafening, quite a turn from the doomsday predictions of a few years ago.

Andre Agassi, tennis’ indefatigable elder statesman, was still competing gamely for, if not winning, titles when he decided to step down after losing in the 3rd round of the 2006 US Open. Andre can look back at a career that — singular in its dramatic resurrection — helped Americans embrace the game while changing the very way it is played. With eight Grand Slam titles to his credit, including a Slam on every surface, he may yet be remembered most for forming one-half of a rivalry with arguably the greatest player in history — Pete Sampras. A tireless spokesperson for the game, Andre generously donates money, time and energy to youth programs across the country.

A strong supporting cast is contributing hugely to the health and excitement of the pro game. Andy Roddick, back in top form after winning Cincinnati, is sporting a new coach in none other than Jimmy Connors, the original never-say-die showman. Competing gamely, A-Rod infects us all with his unbridled passion. And there's Rafael Nadal, the Spanish conquistador who injects all his matches with the air of a heavyweight prizefight. When all is said and done, and Federer is whisked away on a golden chariot with a record number of slams under his belt, we may look back and recall how Nadal was the one man whom The Maestro could not dominate. Perhaps their head-to-head battles will one day match those of Laver-Rosewall, Borg-McEnroe, and Sampras-Agassi.

The women’s game is experiencing nothing short of a resurgence, in spite of the relative absence of two of the most colorful players to ever grace a tennis court, sisters Venus and Serena. For the first time since Evonne Goolagong, the women's game is led by an all-court athlete in Amelie Mauresmo, who wields a combination of superior natural gifts and graceful movement. And the Belgian rivals, Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, always add entertainment value when they face-off. Of course, the WTA can always count on a bevy of Russian glam-girls to tickle our fancies, from the sweet, demure and athletically superior Dementieva to the willful and aloof assassin, Maria Sharapova. To top it off, the return to the top 10 of Martina Hingis is a welcome sight, as no one is as physically and mentally agile or strokes the ball with as much intelligence and finesse as the Swiss prodigy.

Then there's the majors. Four slams in three seasons on three continents. Imagine the entire National Football League tripping around the world to compete for their sport’s most coveted prize. That’s tennis. The men’s and women’s tours come together each year for eight weeks to bask in the glow of the Grand Slam spotlight, totaling more than 1,500 matches. That's a lot of world-class tennis!

The Australian Open. The Aussie Open has featured some of the most memorable matches in recent Grand Slam memory, like the Roddick-El Aynaoui marathon in 2004 that left even the players awed by their shotmaking. Of course, this year's final between Federer and Nadal seemed preordained after the incredible year each had in 2005. The Australian is an awesome contest of fitness and willpower, with players enduring court temperatures that climb to 120 degrees.

Roland Garros, also known as the French Open. Where else on earth can a single rally turn into a 3- to 5-minute test of wills, stamina and guile? No amount of promotional marketing can save the game’s elite from the crafty dirt-ballers from Europe and South America. Just ask a guy named Sampras. It’s a different game on the crushed orange brick, one that elevates speed and toughness to primary status. Bring a change of shoes... and an oxygen tank.

Wimbledon, or as the British like to call it, The Championships at Wimbledon. In an age when tradition is tossed out as “old school” tennis clings steadfastly to this, its most time-honored event. Where else can a long-shot have such a good shot? Think Goran Ivanisevic, the lanky lefty from Croatia with the frightening serve who won as a Wild Card entry in 2001. And who among us predicted Nadal's ascendance to the finalists' platform in 2006? On the slippery grass under a wooden roof in a sliver of time called a fortnight anything can happen. Able hands and agile minds need only apply.

The U.S. Open. Against the bright lights of New York, the U.S. Open sizzles with electricity, igniting the deepest passions and inspiring the greatest effort from the players. The influence on a player’s confidence is so great that victory in New York all but guarantees success in other slams. Win Wimbledon, and win the tennis world’s most coveted crown. Win the Open, and win the whole world’s admiration.

Rivalries. Apart from boxing’s Ali-Frazier face-offs, tennis has sported the most captivating rivalries, going back to Laver-Rosewall and including King-Court, Evert-Navratilova, Borg-Connors, Borg-McEnroe, McEnroe-Lendl, Edberg-Becker, Graf-Sanchez-Vicario, and Sampras-Agassi. Will Roddick-Federer be next? Federer-Nadal? How about Sharapova-Henin-Hardenne? Or perhaps Hingis-Sharapova? Stay tuned; it's heating up out there.

Sportsmanship. The gentleman’s game is alive and well. Players routinely hold up their racquets and clap their strings to acknowledge the fine play of opponents. Or show an opponent a palm to confess winning the point on a cheap shot or a lucky net cord. In a battle for hundreds of thousands of dollars, Agassi routinely turned and strode to the other court in spite of the umpire’s call of fault, awarding his opponent the point by ace.

Yet among all the things that set tennis apart from the rest, my personal favorite is the ubiquitous ball-person. Not a match is played without 12- to 16-year-olds scampering after errant balls, then waiting like pointers for the signal from players to give up the prize. It’s charming, and it shows a playful side to an otherwise serious business. Long live the ballboys and ballgirls. They lend an air of innocence to professional sport, and do it on the world’s grandest stages.

I got hooked on tennis as an eight-year-old watching my brother Tom play a spirited match on the neighborhood black-top with his high school rival, Charlie Watson. Tom and Charlie’s matches had a rhythm I found completely engrossing. For two summers I held court with Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe on the blacktop of our neighborhood park, a plywood backboard as our only judge and arbiter. Those imaginary matches of my youth went the distance every time.

Sport needs the innocent imaginings of young park-rats to stay alive, and by my reckoning, tennis is thriving.

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