Howdy. Well I'm not entirely fired up by the ongoing ATP or WTA events. Champagne Kimmy Clijsters is playing her little guts out for promoter Bob Verbeeck at the Proximus Diamond Games (it may sound like the tournament masterminded by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, but to our Kimmy it's nothing less than the Belgian Grand Slam!). I'm sort of interested in how it goes for Alexandra Stevenson in St. Paul, and am trying to set up a call with her, just to find out what she's been doing. Bangalore? Have fun, girls!
The pickings on the men's side is pretty slim, too. Marseilles? Pffffttt! I'm hoping Gustavo Kuerten starts a major comeback at the Brasil Open, but it's just too early to tackle that one. San Jose should heat up pretty soon - tonight, in fact, as young Sam Querrey goes up against Andy Roddick. This is one of those happy coincidences that resonates with generational and national if not international significance. When I spent some time with Andy in December in Florida, I was impressed by his level of interest in, and knowledge about, Querrey.
One of Andy's best qualities is his team spirit, and that's something he shares with Roger Federer, although neither of them makes a big deal out of it. We all know about the long-standing friendship Roger has with his Davis Cup doubles partner,Yves Allegro (and how The Mighty Fed has made it known that Allegro is his preferred doubles partner). I'm told Roger has kept close ties with another Swiss player who has never made a pro breakthrough, recent Davis Cup hero Marco Chiudinelli. This means that when all the other factors come together, Switzerland will have a real team to vye for the Davis Cup, not just TMF and four guys he wouldn't recognize if he ran into them in a bus station. File that away for future reference.
While visiting with Roddick, he made one call to try to organize a hotel room for the son of a childhood friend - and former junior rival - from Texas. The kid was playing the Orange Bowl, and operating on a tight budget. Andy also told me that he was taking an active interest in Querrey, who has a stylistic and physical profile comparable to Andy's own. A big, raw-boned kid, Querrey relies on his thunderous serve, a scary forehand, and youthful appetite for competition. His biggest weakness, Andy told me, is a lack of Big Match experience. Apparently, Querrey just didn't throw himself fully into the cauldron of junior tennis, and has required some seasoning.
