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Surface tension Those who skip Wimbledon only cheating themselves
Gustavo Kuerten clearly isn't a Wimbledon fan. If all the reports are to be believed, he's planning to stay away. "I simply don't have any desire to play there," was the quote attributed to the Brazilian as he arrived back home following his withdrawal from the Barcelona Open. He appears to see the two weeks of Wimbledon as an opportunity to finally overcome a nagging groin injury. Word of this came even after the All England Club disbanded its seeding committee and promised to work with the men's tour to find a suitable seeding solution. Kuerten has taken exception to the fact Wimbledon is the only one of the four grand slams not to follow the ATP rankings to determine its men's championship seeds. Last year, Spanish duo Alex Corretja and Albert Costa pulled out of Wimbledon because of a similar gripe. Now, I'm not sure how long this has been festering in Kuerten's mind. It only became public over the weekend. But if he really feels so bitter and isn't impressed by Wimbledon's immediate attempt at reconciliation, then he really has no alternative but to pack up his rackets for Wimbledon fortnight. We'll just have to try to get over it. In previous years, Wimbledon's seeding panel has dropped clay-court specialists down -- and sometimes out -- of the top 16 and promoted players with more of a feel for grass. Wimbledon Director Tim Phillips said that this year the club will work with the ATP to find a formula which will please most players, although strictly adhering to the rankings still doesn't seem to be an option. Phillips is reported to want to talk with Kuerten to resolve the issue. Kuerten is a colorful and charismatic character who was top of the points race last year and is again riding high after his clay-court triumph in Monte Carlo. The game needs him. Wimbledon fans would miss him. But they'd miss Patrick Rafter a whole lot more.
Last year, the Australian fan favorite was promoted from a ranking of 27 to a seeding of 12. He went on to lose in the final to Pete Sampras, having defeated Andre Agassi in a semifinal epic. Had Wimbledon not seeded Rafter, he could have been drawn to face Sampras or Agassi in the first round. That's not fair to the players or paying public. It can also be construed as unfair to the likes of Corretja and Costa, who work hard to gain ranking points only to find they count for naught come grass court season. But how many of their points did they accumulate on grass? Few, if any. Not to be disrespectful, but compared to Rafter how many people would bat an eyelid at Costa's first round exit from the hallowed grounds of SW19? I'm an advocate of clay-court specialists being given favorable treatment at the French Open too. Kuerten would be missed far more there than Rafter. Costa is an absolute must among the higher seeds at Roland Garros. It's horses for courses, my friends. The best way for clay-court players to make their point is to play Wimbledon and win a few matches -- be it from a seeded position or not. Kuerten was seeded fourth last year, having reached the quarterfinals the year before. That's hardly an unfair ranking when he has no great grass court pedigree. He lost in the first round in 1997 (when he was French Open champion) and '98. He lost to little-known German Alexander Popp in the third round in straight sets in 2000. Wimbledon had Britain's own Greg Rusedski as 14th seed last year. That was worth complaining about. He'd done nothing of note in the build-up to warrant that. It was home favoritism. This is the kind of anomaly Wimbledon will likely outlaw this year. American Todd Martin would have been more deserving, even coming off his injury troubles. Martin had at least reached the Wimbledon semis twice before and reached at least the fourth round on his previous six visits. Plus, he was a former champion on grass at Queen's Club. But did I hear Todd complaining after losing a five-set marathon to Andre Agassi in just the second round? Absolutely not. Just like the Masters in golf, Wimbledon is steeped in its own glorious traditions and has for so long played by its own rules. Those tennis players who choose not to be part of that tradition, for whatever reason, are only cheating themselves. Phil Jones is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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