News of the Week: 70-68 Edition

Mornin.' Here at TENNIS.com, we've been implementing a great idea lofted by Easy Ed McGrogan—a countdown of the Top 25 players on both tours, summarizing their 2010 and looking forward to what next lies in store for each of them. By now, you probably know these "Last Word" featurettes are running daily, and they will until we finish up with the No. 1 players. I've been churning out my assignments (my top two are Rafa and Vera Zvonareva), but let's move on to the news of the week.

The Rock and Mac

American readers might be interested to know that Pat McEnroe, former U.S. Davis Cup captain and author of Hardcourt Confidential (which I helped McEnroe write), will be hosting the captain who replaced him, Jim "the Rock" Courier, for a chat on Twitter. Pat's first "Tweetchat," with Nick Bollettieri, apparently went over big. If you want to pose a question to Pat or Jim, here's the landing page for submitting a question, as well as your Tweetchat sign-in page. And you can "follow" #tennischat here. It all seems a little confusing but I know you can work it out. I'm going to check out the chat myself, and I posed a question for the boys.

It's not about the money. . .

It happens as surely as night follows day: Davis Cup heroes, and/or those who represent them, go on the warpath against the national federation for whom the player has performed so ably. So I wasn't surprised but feel a little discouraged reading the comments of Novak Djokovic's father, Srdjan, about the need to "reconstruct" the Serbian tennis federation.

I have no opinion about the state of the Serbian federation. But I do know that ITF affiliates like the USTA or the Serbian federation do a lot of the heavy lifting in player development and tournament (including Davis Cup) hosting etc. Granted, some seem inefficient or poorly run, and in many places federation jobs (there are worker bees in addition to what is often the voluntary leadership) become sinecures for the well-connected indolent or incompetent. Overnight success of the kind visited upon Serbia catches people by surprise and casts a glaring light upon the shortcomings in any federation. On the other hand, where were the critics before the glory began to rain down, and the federations were at their daily grind?

This story suggests that the Djokovic's are making a power play. Apparently, they feel the right (and perhaps it's justified by what they bring to the federation) and need to create a new order, while being pretty coy about having any accountability in that process or its result. It's a little bit like when iconic players sound off on player development.

And while I have no opinion on the rate-of-compensation for the Serbian players (although in general the Davis Cup pay scale provides no commerical incentive to play; it's all about the spirit of the event), I couldn't help but notice Davis Cup captain Bogdan Obradovich's aside regarding the payout.

Still, while this story makes it sound like the Djokovics are all puffed up with newfound self-importance, it would behoove the Serbs to re-examine their basic MO in light of the fact that they are now a legitimate Davis Cup power—and probably will be for at least the next half-decade. It would have served Djokovic's et al better to take a more measured, discreet approach to voicing their complaints, and for them to wait a bit longer to air their grievances. Why add a sour note to the victor's athem?

Maybe stick with golf?

Martina Navratilova virutally spirinted to the top of the Olympus of tennis, but she was carried off the slopes of Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro a few days ago on a stretcher, her lungs filled with fluid in a typical case of high-altitude pulmonary edema. She says she felt okay when she abandoned the climb at 14,800 feet, and anyone who's spent significant time at altitude knows getting even that high represents a good effort. I like the way she described the feeling: "Nothing hurt, and for an athlete that's weird. Nothing hurt but I couldn't go on."

Navratilova, 54, was part of a team of 27, among whom only 18 made it to the summit, the entire trip characterized by horrible weather—sleet, fog, steady rain. Those are tough conditions for any outdoor activity. So a hat tip to Martina lasting four days. Released from the hospital after her recovery, she philosophically observed that her failure may have generated more publicity for the cause (the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation) than would a successful ascent.

You may remember that TW's all-time favorite alpinist, Marat Safin, harbored even larger ambitionsthan Navratilova back when he decided to tackle Cho Oyu, the world's sixth highest mountain. That didn't work out so well, either. Safin ascended to the peak of a warm-up mountain, but then looked at Cho Oyu and decided it was too tall. So he pulled the plug and went back to Moscow in time to cheer on his Russian Davis Cup teammates to a victory over Germany. This mountain climbing stuff must be harder than it looks, at least for tennis players. . .

It's a horse, ain't it?

You know that old cowboy expression, right? It basically means, "Sure it can be done, what's the big deal?" and derives from the belief that all broncs can be ridden. Well, thrice-engaged Martina Hingis knows a fair bit about horses, being a competitive show jumper, and up to now, she's also been sort of an engagment jumper, if that's the right term.

One of those engagements, you may remember, was to the Czech player and most unlikely chick magnet of them all, Radek Stepanek. After the broken engagement with Hingis, Stepanek, who came up with the weirdest victory celebration in tennis (the ground-humping action known as "the worm" went on to recently marry his countrywoman and former world No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova.

Well, Hingis finally got it done, too, at age 30: She snuck off and married another competitive equestrian who's six years her junior, Frenchman Thibault Hutin. That pretty much lays to rest the recurrent and by now tiresome rumors of a Hingis return to the pro game.

The 70-68 Open

The big news on the administrative side of the game is that the Pilot Pen Classic, a long-running if consistently trouble tune-up for the U.S. Open, no longer exists. It's moving to Winston-Salem, where it will be played August 21-27 on the campus of Wake Forest University. Is it mere coincidence that site is all of 20 miles from Greensboro, the home town of rising American star John "70-68" Isner?

The big problem for New Haven always has been that very few of the top players choose to compete the week before the U.S. Open, but enough of them have found themselves suddenly needing matches to enter the Pilot Pen at the last minute. But it's a craps shoot for the promoter, and the likelihood that Isner will play (how could he not?) softens the risk. The tournament will take place in a new facility designed for both pro and collegiate use, and feature a center court with at least 3500 seats.

I think this event is going to be a huge success, albeit within its obvious, intentional limitations. Winston-Salem, which has hosted a number of wildly successful Davis Cup ties, is a tennis-rich area and the USTA Southern section is an aggressive, competent outfit. This will be one of those events that people will support for its own sake, not simply because they want to see a Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal . . . or even John Isner.

I get a Kiick out of you. . .

Readers in the U.S. will be happy to hear that American girls swept the 16s and the 18s singles competitions at the Orange Bowl, perhaps the most prestigious of junior tournaments after the Grand Slams. The winner in the 18s was Lauren Davis, who's now  a Federeresque 33-1 in her most recent matches. In the 16s, the winner was 15-year old Allie Kiick—daughter of former Miami Dolphins running back Jim Kiick, a staple on one of the great, dynastic teams in NFL history (he played in three Super Bowls, two of them wins by Miami). Jim went ga-ga over his daughter's big win in a way that just has to bring a smile to your face on a cold winter day. . .

And that's all I've got for this week. . .