I have some follow-up (and, I hope, unpredictable) observations on the Serena situation, as a result of the crackling dialogue it triggered, but I'll save that for later.
Right now, why don't we all chill out and celebrate one of the imminent, last great moments of the tennis year—the early December Davis Cup final between Croatia and Slovakia, with the latter hosting in Bratislava's Sibamac Arena.
The news out of London is that Goran Ivanisevic has withdrawn from the lucrative Champions Masters, which will be held in London's storied Royal Albert Hall. This event is the grand finale of the senior tour that features the likes of old farts like Jim Courier and John McEnroe.
It seems that Goran just can't take a pass on being part of what will surely be a magical, heartwarming moment—a David vs. David confrontation between two small nations, neither of which has ever won the Cup. The tie will generate monumental interest—and have epic signficance—in middle Europe.
Goran has been succcessful on the senior tour this year, yet he didn't miss a beat when the issue of his possible selection to the Croatian Davis Cup squad popped up. He was picked as the fourth man on the team, meaning it's unlikely he'll swing a stick in anger. Does Goran care?
No way. He just wants to be part of his homeland's historic moment. Is that cool, or what?
Goran was always one of my favorite players, even though it was scary to imagine what would have happened if we woke up one morning and found that serves over 90 m.p.h. were outlawed. His groundies? They looked like they were sprayed out of a garden hose. But Goran was a quote machine, and the perfect TennisWorld embodiment of the altar boy who always got into the wine cupboard. He says:
If I were a Slovak, I would start feeling concerned. We all know that in the annals of "amazing sports stories," Goran's triumph at Wimbledon in 2001 is right up there with, oh, the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team's gold-medal win over Russia, or Virginia Wade's win at the Centenary Wimbledon in 1977.
He's got good ju-ju, and his presence is bound to inspire the squad. This is real "Rocky" or "Rudy" territory: A broken down, retired champ comes back to be part of the Big Show on one last occassion—an enormous one for his nation, it turns out.
I'd say at the very least, Goran's presence is worth about the same for Croatia as the home-ground advantage is for Slovakia. It's hard to see the Croatians losing, but then this is Davis Cup—the most unpredictable tennis event of them all!