Monday, August 14, 2000
Only stars can make fans care
MASON — Anna Kournikova flames the cover of the latest issue of Tennis Week, wearing red lipstick and suggestions of clothing. She can't take her eyes off her, and neither can we. They could have used her here Sunday.
Nothing against the ATP Championship, er, the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati. Great people, great event. We're lucky to have it. But the problem with men's tennis is, there are no women.
To the casual fan, men's tennis is Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and a sprint for a magazine cover where Anna is spreading her feathers like a peacock. Failing that, we'll watch the
Williams sisters and their goofy father-coach, Richard.
Kournikova is who Agassi used to be, before he shaved his head and got serious. Image really is everything, especially in a peripheral sport such as tennis. Which brings us to Thomas Enqvist, the most forgettable champion in this tournament since, well, Guy Forget in 1991.
Say what?
Nice player, Enqvist. Serves as hard as any Swede since Bjorn Borg. Dead-solid baseliner. So consistently good this week, he played 13 sets and lost only one. He won his last 11, including the decisive two Sunday, in the final against Tim Henman.
He became the first Swede since Stefan Edberg in 1990 to win here.
Enqvist won Sunday despite dealing with a loose bone chip in the front of his right foot, a malady that might have been interesting had Enqvist chosen to elaborate on it. Asked about it Sunday, he declared, “It felt good.”
Enqvist's hero is Borg. Another interesting factoid, except Enqvist didn't wax loquacious on that, either. Asked to describe hitting with Borg, Enqvist said it “was a lot of fun.”
Did he give you any advice? “Not really.”
Do you call him now? “No.”
See him at Wimbledon? “No.”
Do you talk at all? “I don't know him that well.”
And away we go.
Enqvist's match with Henman was closer than it looked. Henman had seven break points and converted none. At 5-5 in the first-set tiebreak, Henman double-faulted. Too bad for Henman, afflicted with a classic case of Buffalo Bills Disease. Henman has lost seven finals in a row, dating from October '98, and by now may not know much else.
“It's frustrating,” said Henman. “But I think I can take a lot from this.” Yup. Runner-up money was $211,000.
Henman is Great Britain's great hope for a return to tennis prominence the nation last enjoyed when Fred Perry won Wimbledon. That was 64 years ago. It may take Henman that long to win a title.
Peripheral delights
Meanwhile, this tournament rolls on, polished and successful. And it's still the only sporting event in town where you can get lamb curry, gazpacho and a silver tennis bracelet engraved with your initials.
Until this year, it had enjoyed an incredible run of big-name finals. Since '91, Agassi has won twice, Sampras three times. In the last 15 years, only one finalist had not been ranked in the world's top 10.
This year was a different story. Enqvist deserved to win, though. Here's hoping someone will remember he did.
Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at (513) 768-8454.
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