Pop Quiz

Well, well, well, it's been quite a 24 hours here. For the first time in the existence of this weblog, I had a bit of an altercation with a faithful reader, we were visited by some truly strange ghosts from TWs past (What is this, yet another holiday-season re-run of A Christmas Carol?????), most of whom were welcomed even though it was - at times -  through gritted teeth. And nobody - okay, let's say surprisingly few people -  seemed capable of comparing Pete Sampras and Roger Federer in the way that most behooves us and honors them: as two titans of the game, who stand on the same plane and about whom you make sweeping generalizations and pronouncements at your own peril.

You know what? Those guys deserve better. Both of them.

At times here, I have expressed the opinion that there are two kinds of tennis fans: those who are drawn to the aesthetics of the game (which includes fans who are mostly fascinated by the personalities of the players in roughly the same way we generally are drawn to "love" or "hate" certain actors, or rock stars), and those who care first and foremost about the game - that complex, tradition-rich, brilliant enterprise (A second serve in case you missed the first? Who could have dreamed up such a thing?) that is more about results than presentation, more about the nuances of strategy and technique than the magnetism of personalities or the allure of showmanship.

I think that to many fans, tennis has more in common with figure skating than with, say, baseball. To others (myself included) the overtones of figure skating are a diversion, and the marketing of tennis and its players as the sporting world's equivalent of Paris Hilton and Vince Vaughn and Meryl Streep is  just an obvious attempt to better sell the sport (do not think for a moment that the Lords of Tennis are oblivuous to the demographics of the sport).At the same time, there is no doubt that the "diva" tradition in tennis is as rich and historic as any other aspect of the game. Long  before we had Roger Federer's designer bag at Wimbledon, or Serena's biker chick outfit, we had Suzanne Lenglen's bandeau, and Big Bill Tilden's ham-actor court presence. So I'm not complaining about the figure skating component in tennis. Hail, it's fun to have that extra layer of interest, inn'it?

But it occurred to me that it would be a welcome diversion for y'all to take a little pop quiz, just to see how you measure up in terms of actual hardcore tennis knowledge. So I tried to come up with a list of questions, including some multiple choice ones, intended to determine just how hardcore a hardcore fan you are. I tried to come up with at least a few to which the answers, while not entirely subjective, cannot really be looked up or Googled.

I also am not going to vouch for the validity of the answers, simply because I am dipping into my personal store of knowledge (such as it is) to come up with these questions, and assuming that the answers I post (look for them late this evening) are correct. If you catch me being wrong, or can make a good argument that I am wrong, then it's my bad - and my own ignorance will lie exposed.

So here we go:

1 - Jack Kramer's theory of "percentage tennis" is essentially based on the idea that:
a) You're best off playing to your opponent's weaker side.
b) Playing a steady baseline game reduces your errors and thus improves your chances to win.
c) Your chances of winning are better if you attack the net than if you stay back.
d) Your first-serve percentage is the key to success.

2 - Yannick Noah won the French Open, but he had one glaring flaw that kept him from winning  big on a regular basis. What was it?

3 - The first coach Open era coach to volubly advocate taking the ball on the rise was:
a) Lennart Bergalin
b) Dennis Ralston
c) Pancho Segura
d) Nick Bollettieri

4 - Why is the backhand down the line a risker shot, especially as a passing shot, than the crosscourt backhand?

5 - The tennis match that drew the largest television audience after the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs match was:
a) The 2001 prime-time US Open final between Venus and Serena Williams.
b) Stan Smith's victory over Ilie Nastase in the Davis Cup final of 1972.
c) The legendary 1980 "tiebreaker" final between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon (1980)
d) The Rod Laver vs. Ken Rosewall WCT final in Dallas in 1972.

6 - Two young stars of the early Open era refused to join Billie Jean King and her cohorts to play on the early Virginia Slims tour. Who were they?

7 - A player can see an opponent's kick serve coming mostly by:
a) The grip used by the server.
b) The deep knee bend required to execute the serve.
c) The position of the ball at the peak of the toss.
d) The follow-through that comes across the body.

8 - Which of these qualities was most responsible for Gustavo Kuerten's success on the red clay at Roland Garros:
a) He was able to play from well behind the baseline
b) He was mentally strong enough to play long points without getting impatient.
c) He had a fantastic drop shot.
d) The Brazilian fans inspired him with constant Samba music.

9 - Which of these men never won the Italian Open:
a) Pete Sampras
b) Jimmy Connors
c) Vitas Gerulaitis
d) Magnus Norman

10 - Ken Rosewall was nicknamed "Muscles" because:
a) He hit a surprisingly heavy backhand, given that he played slice.
b) He was a pioneer of cross-training who advocated training in the gym.
c) The name was sarcastic, because he was a scrawny dude.
d) He once punched out Lew Hoad after an intense Davis Cup training session.

11 - A "cannonball" serve is one that:
a) Explodes off the racquet with a lethal amount of spin.
b) Is hit right at an opponent's body.
c) Is hit with a western rather than a continental grip.
d) None of the above.

12 -  Who wrote the classic tennis book, Levels of the Game?
a) Vic Braden
b) Timothy Gallway
c) Arthur Ashe
d) John McPhee

13 - Shortly before the King-Riggs match, we had the "Mother's Day Massacre." Who was Bobby Riggs's opponent in that one?

14 - Michael Chang was known to:
a) Play with a racquet that was actually longer than standard, to give him added reach.
b) Cover his feet with vaseline before putting on his socks, to prevent blisters.
c) Drink a quart of water before he went out to play a match, to prevent dehydration during long matches.
d) Listen to Wagner's Ring under headphones for a few minutes before every practice session.

15 - The player whose refusal to play Davis Cup ultimately led to the ATP boycott of Wimbledon in 1973, and who would later emerge as Boris Becker's Davis Cup coach, was:
a) Ion Tiriac
b) Nikki Pilic
c) Patrick Khunen
d) Boris Breskvar

Okay, folks, have at it.

I expect some of you to ace this - Skip? MarieJ? TaiC? Ruthie? Dunlop? Slice? Rosia? (Late addition: Tari!)

I will post the answers tomorrow morning, to give our readers in other parts of the world ample time to do the quiz. If you're a real stud or studette you will post your answers in the Comments section below (I know it means a little work keeping track and typing them in, but it would be fun) but I strongly suggest  you*not* read the Comments until after** you complete the quiz in any case, just so you won't be unduly influenced - or deceived - by someone else's responses. Like I said, answers in the A.M.

And, as always, the honor system is in effect!

PS - Bonus question: why is Arthur Ashe's picture in this post?