Celebrating Tennis

Howdy, everyone. Amy and Juan Jose are a hard act to follow (see the Monday Net Post, Tribe Notes), but I'll try. Today at ESPN, I posted an entry on Wimbledon, essentially suggesting that TennisWorld recognize it for what it actually is: a unique, one-off event (remember, there isn't even a Masters Series event on grass) that provides an ideal, mid-season (in tennis's case, mid-year) opportunity to pause and celebrate the game. U.S. readers will know what I meant when I compared the Wimbledon fortnight to Major League Baseball's All-Star break.

Of course, the big difference is that the actual MLB all-star game is an exhibition, while Wimbledon is perhaps the pre-eminent title in tennis. But the way I see it, that only strengthens my argument. Since we have the most significant annual tennis event, why not create an infrastructure around it, to promote and celebrate the game? I say throw out all those grass-court "tune-ups" (with apologies to all my friends involved in them) and re-tool them as exhibitions, promoting the game while allowing the players to get sufficient match play and practice time on grass not to impair their preparation for Wimbledon.

Let's face it: grass courts exist in the pro game only because of Wimbledon, and there are so few of them that last Friday Rosangel very effectively argued that there really is no such thing as a "grass-court specialist" (see the Mistress of the Numerical Arts post).

The scary/logical part is how sensible it would be to think of the world tour as an annual affair in two acts: the winter/spring on hard and clay courts, and the summer/fall on hard and indoor courts. And if you had Wimbledon as the international tennis celebration for a solid month (including the fortnight) - tennis's very own All-Star break, you would have a lot of options for growing the game. . .

Sure it's fantasy, but there's a fantasy element to Wimbledon, too. It's an anachronism (which is part of its charm), and simultaneously the most important and least relevant of the important tournaments. I say least relevant because it takes place on a surface that is not in common use, either in the recreational or pro game.A nd many aspects of its tradition (including the predominantly-white clothing rule) are, quite simply, out-of-step  with the times, but in a way that seems praiseworthy rather than contemptible.

But one thing that can't be ignored or forgotten: if obscure players were winning Wimbledon, it would have gone to clay, hard or carpet long, long ago. The thing that has made it possible for Wimbledon to continue being Wimbledon is the fact that it has produced fewer surprise winners or One-Slam Wonders than any other event. It's a remarkable stroke of good luck for the tournament, when you think about it - and it also says something about the nature of tennis on grass.

We now resume your regularly scheduled commercial broadcast - the European clay-court circuit!

Note: I am traveling to Boston early tomorrow, to spend two days with Pete Sampras. I have one post set to go tomorrow (on the titans of clay) and will fill you in on how it went with Pete when I get a chance. I'm staying with friends in Boston, so I'm not sure what my computer access will be like.