Still, the most exciting aspect of the fall this year is Jankovic's drive for the YE no. 1 ranking. It may seem unfair to label it that way, but I think Jankovic has earned the naming rights. She's been a one-woman show, and I've been so impressed with her refreshing commitment to the mission that it's more or less wiped away my basic feeling that no woman (or man) who hasn't won a major in any given year ought to be ranked no. 1 for the year. But I've always attached an "unforseen circumstances" caveat to that, and that's kicked in here. I'm just lovin' Jankovic's dedication - it's a gauntlet thrown down at the feet of her rivals: You gonnacowgirl up, or stay in the truck?
Jankovic and a looming changing-of-the-guard in the heart of the ATP batting order have made this fall more interesting than most, but I still believe that the indoor "season" is misplaced, and look back nostalgically on the days when indoor tennis meant the US Pro Indoor (played in February at the Spectrum, in Philadelphia), and the Virginia Slim Championships (played at the peak of the tennis boom- era in March at New York's Madison Square Garden).
I miss those and other arenas that played a role in what was, at the time, a flourishing winter indoor circuit (just click on this link and take a look at Martina Navratilova's record in 1985, when she played 4 indoor events in the early part of the year). Or check out the 1985 results for John McEnroe, who played 6 consecutive events on indoor carpet to start his year. A lot has changed since then, a good deal of it for the better (like the renaissance of the Australian Open, and remarkable growth of two dual-gender outdoor Masters Series event, Miami and Indian Wells).
But something has been lost too - a North American indoor season perfectly positioned to bring a little sunshine into the lives of tennis fans struggling through a long, cold winter. Before the year is out, I'll write a red-meat post about those days, because they were fun - not least because all those fans wandered in out of the cold to watch men in shorts and girls in cute tennis outfits playing a fast, exciting brand of tennis under bright lights while the snow flew and icy winds raged outside. In terms of a spectating experience (as opposed to, say, a vacation experience) it probably never got better at sub-Grand Slam events. So hold your fire, Skip and some of you other elders - I'll be soliciting comments on your experience of those indoor-circuit days when I produce that post.
I guess it's no longer viable to have an indoor circuit at the most logical time of the year, but wouldn't it be better, in the best of all worlds, to have the indoor events played between the end of January and the middle of April - with the big outdoor hard court events taking place in the fall?
Oh, I know, nobody wants to attend the Sony-Ericsson Open (Miami) or Pac Life Open (Indian Wells) in November. We'd all rather go to Florida or California in March. But even that reality is based less on what makes the most sense, tennis-wise (I mean, really, all other thing aside, wouldn't it make sense for Miami and Indian Wells to swap calendar slots with Madrid and Paris?) than with the organic, market-driven growth of the game. Tennis has become a "destination" sport for many fans, and that's been a great development. But a three-day winter hiatus in Philadelphia (no jokes, please) to watch some tennis, hit a few museums or theaters, isn't the worst road-trip, either.
It's too bad that the popularity of outdoor hard court tournaments has killed the indoor circuit at the time when it made the most sense and offered a lot to tennis-starved fans. And to me, there's a more natural rythm to starting the tennis year indoors, and working up to the major outdoor meetings, than to go indoors in the fall, when all but the most devoted of fans are glutted. But you know the Lords of Tennis: one hand gives, the other taketh away.
The ongoing races, at least, make the losses easier to bear.
