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The future is now Safin set to be tennis' next superstar
Marat Safin, the future of tennis? What nonsense. What garbage. Unless, of course, the future is now. In a recent column, I talked of the 20-year-old Russian as the kind of player who can carry the men's game post-Sampras and Agassi. Little did I know that he was quite so capable of picking up the baton and running with it right now. Safin was stunning in his first major final at the U.S. Open, leaving the legendary Pete Sampras powerless to resist. Straight sets? Who'd have thunk it. Safin also showed a little more of the personality and forthright chatter I'd hoped for right here several weeks ago. He wasn't afraid to show his emotions on court and was brave and boastful at times in front of the media off court. After his title triumph, for example, he was almost indignant at a suggestion he might have entered the tournament thinking he wasn't yet ready to go all the way. "Why enter a tournament, even a Grand Slam, if you think you can't win it?" he declared. "Why bother, why bother? I have everything you need to win a Grand Slam." And the complete package, it appears, to cement his position as the next superstar of men's tennis.
Richard's rantsRichard Williams, outspoken and often outrageous tennis parent, has well and truly overstepped the mark this time. Yes, he may have emerged from the California ghettos to make his daughters Venus and Serena the talk of tennis. Yes, his coaching may have helped them win three Grand Slam singles titles and counting. But no, he simply can't be allowed to shoot his mouth off and get away with it. After Venus won the U.S. Open -- her fifth successive tournament victory -- he was quoted in a New York newspaper, criticizing two of Venus' victims, Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport. The senior Williams was reported to have said: "Hingis is an inch shorter than when I first met her. She should come to me and say 'Master Williams I want you to help me.' And I could help her." He then referred to a friend, an apparent drug-user from the ghetto, saying: "When he's not high, he's a surgeon. He could saw her legs off and attach new legs that are a couple of inches longer. Her legs are too short to run down the ball." Williams senior, who came down on to court without invitation after Venus beat Lindsay in the final and danced a joyful jig, also claimed Davenport was "getting older and slower."
Lindsay, quite rightly, chose to ignore the antics. "I always turn my head," she said, "better not to see how they act." But can the governing body of women's tennis, the WTA, turn its head? After all, it's not the first time he's been conspicuously antagonistic. He held up signs from the spectators' box during the Wimbledon final in July, again won by Venus over Davenport. They were large white boards on which he scribbled various inane notes and displayed for all to see. It's ludicrous and off-putting and simply shouldn't be allowed. Nor should flippantly insulting his daughters' opponents. Are Venus and Serena so big for tennis that reining in Dad is too risky an option? No, because Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport are crucial for the sport as well and should be given the respect they deserve.
Champions League needs changesIn a week of 64 European matches, 16 of which come in the Champions League, I was pleased to see Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville tell it as it is when it comes to soccer overkill. It's a favorite annoyance of mine. The Champions League is just too drawn out -- so too the UEFA Cup. Neville, who'll be a central figure in Manchester United's bid to reclaim the European title, would clearly like a new format too. "The Champions League system now isn't good. I don't like it and I don't think the other players do. "No disrespect to some of the clubs in the first group stage but there is no point in them being there. "Although you do get the odd upset here and there it should be just the champions of each country and maybe the runners-up in the competition. Now that it's getting to the third and fourth team it's just getting ridiculous. We have to make sure the competition is not over-exposed." Well said Gary.
Time off for TigerTiger Woods completed the triple crown by winning the Canadian Open to add to his British and U.S. Opens, a feat last achieved by Lee Trevino in 1971. The record books continue to be re-written by this golfing guru. Now, after a sublime summer, I wish one more thing for Woods...some time off to sit back, bask in his glory and reflect on one of the greatest - if not THE greatest - year golf has ever seen. Phil Jones is a co-host of "World Sport," the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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