Tuesday, August 11, 1998
Todd Martin made quick work of Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-4.
(Saed Hindash photo)
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MASON -- Cliff Drysdale considers tennis today more wide open than it has ever been. That said, he can't pull the trigger on an upset pick this week.
"I don't think you can look past the (Pete) Sampras - (Andre) Agassi - (Marcelo) Rios trio here," the ESPN TV analyst said. "But I'd have to go for Sampras."
Drysdale sees this Great American Insurance ATP Championship not just as a one-week battle of wills, but as a great predictor for the next six months.
Among story lines he wonders about:
- Sampras: "Can Pete get back to No. 1 by the end of the year? He'd probably have to win the U.S. Open and another Super 9 event."
- Rios: "Is this guy for real? Here's a guy whose personality is -- and I'm putting this the nicest way I can -- "different,' yet he has been the winningest guy on the tour this year."
- Agassi: "Is his comeback effort for real? I'm convinced yes, it is. He had that amazing run in the summer of '95, and this year is stacking up close to that."
- The Spanish Armada: "How successful will they be on the hardcourt circuit?"
Phone zone
Need perspective on how much this tournament has grown since moving to Mason in 1979? That year, there were 15 phone lines into the complex. This year, there are 182.
"I'll bet (tournament director) Paul Flory uses 170 of those," Drysdale joked. "He's got friends around the world."
There are also 200 internal phone lines in the complex.
Movin' on up
The new ATP Tour rankings came out Monday. Rios, as expected, moved up to No. 1. Patrick Rafter, who won his first Mercedes Super 9 event Sunday in Toronto, moved up to No. 3 from No. 5.
Agassi broke into the top 10 (at No. 9) for the first time since Jan. 19, 1997.
Fewer qualifiers
The chances of Cincinnati players, such as Craig Boynton, earning a spot in future tournaments will be greatly diminished.
"In the year 2000, the top 43 players in the world must play in all the Mercedes Super Nine tournaments," said Miki Singh, communications director for the ATP.
"Players who are injured will be excused as well as those who have personal reasons such as a death in the family. Brett Steven (New Zealand) dropped out this year because his wife had a baby."
Boynton, a former professional who won the Thomas E. Price Metroplitan Tennis championship three times, was awarded an at-large berth in the qualifier the past two seasons.
Last year, Boynton took Petr Korda to three sets, losing 6-4 in the third. On Saturday, Boynton trailed Marcos Ondruska 4-2 in the first set but was forced to retire after suffering a sprained right ankle.
"Since Craig has no ranking, he'd probably have to play in a pre-qualifier to get in," Singh said. "And that would only come off if there weren't enough players for the qualifier."
Singh pointed out that Flory faces tremendous pressure.
"Agents, players, USTA officials and people high up in tennis call Mr. Flory in behalf of the players," Singh said. "What he can do in the future is going to be limited."
Ticket mix-up
Judy Lakes, a mother of two (Sam 3, Ben 2) and a season ticket-holder for eight years, was surprised when she was informed that in the future, tickets will be required for her sons.
"I'm thinking we (husband Mark) may cancel the tickets next year," Lakes said. "We've always been allowed to carry the boys in, and it would too expensive if we had to hire a baby-sitter."
After checking with the ATP office, Lakes was in better spirits. "They told us as long as the boys sit on our laps, we don't need a ticket," she said.
Autograph balls
The jumbo Penn tennis balls used by the younger fans for player autographs retail for $26.50 at the ATP Center. More than 50 were sold at the Penn booth during Monday's first session.
Beanie madness
A chance to win a Charlie the Tuna Beanie Baby is the main reason for the long lines at the Sunkist Tuna booth in the Fan Fest area.
Every visitor spins a wheel to win prizes ranging from a Charlie the Tuna tattoo, pin or Beanie Baby.
Uniform rules
To an outsider looking in, working in the Uniform Room may seen like one of the easier job performed by volunteers.
But, it would be a mistake to mention this to 73-year-old Wilma Hensler of Norwood or Fran Cohen of Amberley Village, who have been distributing goods there for the past eight years.
Each of the 90 ball boys receive two shirts, two pairs of socks, a hat, shoes and a pair of shorts," Cohen said. "The 70 umpires (officials) get a pair of shoes and two shirts."
Overall, there are more than 1,800 shirts, 170 pairs of shoes and 900 caps distributed, all provided by Adidas, an official sponsor of the ATP Tour.
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