If you’re a fan of fine writing as well good tennis, you’re probably enjoying Chris Clarey’s stories from Melbourne, which run in the International Herald Tribune. His story yesterday on the struggles of the top young pros is a typical example of the high standard he consistently hits. His report makes me curious about this French youngster, Gilles Simon, who beat Tomas Berdych. And I love the money quote:
There seems to be no end to the stream of talented players France is producing (a subject on which Clarey is expert), but you have to wonder – is any one of them ever going to bag a Grand Slam title for France?
Mathematically, I suppose, it's inevitable . . . if they keep churning out the players, sooner or later you’ll have a major with 128 Frenchies in the main draw – ergo, a French champ. I’m saying that only half-in-jest.
Throw Amelie Mauresmo - and her issues - into the mix and you might be tempted to say that the French are having difficulty getting over being, well, French. . . That is, complicated, creative, mercurial, individualistic. blasé – and unpredictable.
I still like Gael Monfils best of the entire lot, but it was frustrating to see him get bounced out of the Australian Open in such routine fashion by Luis Horna, in Round One. My TENNIS magazine colleague, Pennsyltucky’s own Steve Tignor, as well as Sports Illustrated and TENNIS’s L. Jon Wertheim, also have a high opinion of Monfils. They’ve paid a price for backing him, too; check out this recent letter to Wert’s SI Mailbag column.