Who will rule Centre
Court?
Posted: Tue June 16,
1998
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will answer your tennis questions during Wimbledon. Click here to send a question.
When the red dust finally settled in Paris, we learned that
the Spanish Armada is seaworthy after all and that Monica,
Arantxa and Jana aren't going to surrender their toehold
to the teenyboppers without a fight. But other than that,
the French Open
prompted more pre-Wimbledon questions than it answered. A
smattering from the
Mailbag:
I would love to see Monica Seles win Wimbledon, the only
Grand Slam title that has eluded her. Does she stand a
chance, or does it look like Martina Hingis will
repeat?
—Marcela Mikkola,
Denver
For good reason, Seles will be the sentimental favorite,
but I'm skeptical that she has the stamina to win seven
straight matches, particularly on grass, particularly in
July. Seles has never been mistaken for one of the game's
more physically fit
players, but her well-upholstered physique was overshadowed by
her sheer power. Now, as her body is starting to creak a
little bit and as the younger players can match her
firepower, she is being forced to hit a lot more balls
during her matches. She's still
capable of playing some great tennis, but don't be surprised
if she wilts during the second
week.
Though Hingis is still "like 3,000 points ahead of
everyone else" in the rankings, as she crowed last
week at the French Open, the rest of the field is catching
up. Hingis' confidence has to be shaken a bit by the
outright waxing Seles gave her at
Roland Garros. Hingis' power is deceptive, but if she meets up
with a player who can serve-and-volley and mix up the pace
(Jana Novotna and Irina Spirlea are two names that jump
immediately to mind, though they would have to face each
other before either
meets Hingis) she could be in trouble. That said, the Swiss Miss
still has to be a prohibitive favorite to
repeat.
1) How would you rate the chances of Andre Agassi and
Marcelo Rios at Wimbledon? 2) In your opinion, can Pete
Sampras win for the fifth time? 3) After her recent defeat
in Paris, will Martina Hingis bounce back
strongly?
—Mustafa Ehsan, Sunnyvale,
Calif.
1) I'd be surprised if either makes it to the second week.
If and when Rios wins his first Slam, it ain't going to be
on grass. Given the wild undulations of Agassi's career,
the guy is both capable of winning the entire event (as he
did in 1992) and
losing in the first round to a qualifier (as he did last month
in gai Paris). Right now, the latter is more
likely.
2) Definitely. Pete has had a rocky 1998 so far but, not
unlike the Chicago Bulls, he's at his best when the stakes
are highest. Wimbledon has been his personal playground
this decade, and the upset-minded generally have to play
amazing tennis—see
Richard Krajicek, 1996—to beat him
here.
3. Good question. Hingis, of course, also lost the 1997
French Open to Iva Majoli. She responded by winning the
next three
Slams.
Will there be a Martina Hingis-Venus Williams matchup in
the Wimbledon
finals?
—Joel Carandang, Manila,
Philippines
Much as you and I would like there to be, I'm inclined to
think not. First of all, the two have an uncanny knack for
appearing in the same half of the draw, which they again do
at Wimbledon. Second, though Williams' power game and foot
speed are
custom-made for grass, her inexperience on the surface will catch
up with her. Remember, this is a player who lost in the
first round last year to unknown Magdalena
Grzybowska.
I would like to see Martina Hingis and Venus Williams play
a doubles match together. Could it
happen?
—Cesar, Lawrence,
Mass.
Sure it could happen. No word on whether their opponents
will be Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, O.J. and Fred Goldman,
or Bill Clinton and Ken Starr. These two like each about as
much as John McEnroe liked line
judges.
After the French Open women's final, can we put to rest all
the talk about the up-and-coming teen wonders? Martina
Hingis certainly cannot be counted out, but what about the
others—the Williams sisters, Anna Kournikova, Mirjana
Lucic,
etc?
—Marianna Castaneda,
Houston
No. Age, if you can call it that—Monica Seles is only
24 and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is a wizened 26—was
served at the French, but there's no doubt that a changing
of the guard is afoot. By the end of the year all four teen
wonders ought to be in the
top 10. (Lucic would be, too, were it not for her limited
schedule of
tournaments.)
What ever happened to MaliVai Washington? I thought that he
was supposed to be the next big thing in American
tennis.
—Steve, Northboro,
Mass.
One of the nicest guys on the tour, Washington has been
hampered by knee injuries for more than a year now and his
current ranking is a woeful 223. The good news is that, as
a former Wimbledon finalist, Mal will get his share of wild
cards when he
regains his health. The bad news is that, at age 29, his
"next big thing" days are long passed. More bad
news: His probable second-round opponent in this year's
field is Pete
Sampras.
Who do you think will win
Wimbledon?
—Christian C. Rivera, Manila,
Philippines
For the past bazillion years, I haven't been able to
succumb to reason and I've picked Goran Ivanisevic. I see
that huge lefty serve and those crisp volleys and wonder
why he's never won a Slam event—much less why he's no
longer even in the top 20. This
year, with a sparsely peopled bandwagon, the pressure's off
the Toni Kukoc lookalike and he'll deliver a long overdue
title. We can dream it at least. Can't
we?
As for the women, I think the Williams sisters will
eventually rule this event, but both need one more year to
feel more comfortable at the net and playing on grass. Much
as I'd like to see Seles or Novotna finally win here, it's
hard not to go with
Hingis.
It's obvious watching Andre Agassi that his passion to win
is missing. Does he really think he can regain the
fire?
—Dave Hinchman, Dorrington,
Calif.
Agassi has a boatload of cash, a celebrity wife and a stash
of Grand Slam trophies. If the passion were gone, I'm sure
he would walk away and spend his days loitering on the set
of
Suddenly
Susan.
Pete Sampras is obviously struggling to reach top form this
year. If Pete fails to win Wimbledon (which will mean three
consecutive poor showings in the majors), do you think he
won't be able to break Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand
Slam
titles?
—Keith Kropp, Ventura,
Calif.
Sampras, to be sure, is in the throes of a pretty serious
schneid right now, but I'd still bet on him breaking Emo's
record. The guy already has 10, he's only 26, he still has
the best serve in the game, and, most important, he has
that raging
competitive fire reserved for the most elite athletes. If he stays
healthy, he ought to average a Slam a year until he retires
at age
30.
Send a question to Jon Wertheim, and check back later to read more of his answers.
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