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Spoilers Lurking at the Wimbledon Transition

June 21, 2004
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY





LONDON, June 20 - Though it is still too brief, it remains
one of the best transitions in sports. In early June, the
world's finest tennis players leave long, flowing marks on
the southwestern outskirts of Paris as the late afternoon
light casts shadows across the burnt sienna of Center
Court. Two weeks later, most of the cast members scuttle
about the lawns on the southwestern outskirts of London as
the light plays pleasant tricks with shades of green.

There are plenty of complaints about with tennis - problems
with injuries, infighting and drug testing, to name a few -
but there is something special about scheduling the French
Open and Wimbledon in the same basic time frame. Combined,
they are a great test of a champion's versatility and
adaptability. Combined, they are also a great boost for the
game's lesser lights, who get to take turns playing the
spoiler.

Though nobody was quaking at the thought of playing young
Americans like Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent on clay at Roland
Garros this year, nobody will be looking forward to playing
them on grass at the All England Club. It is a quick
reshuffling of the deck that keeps the game fresh and
interesting, but this year there will be slightly less
transition than usual.

Although Tim Henman became the first Briton in 41 years to
reach the French Open semifinals, it remains difficult to
see him winning here with the defending champion, Roger
Federer of Switzerland, in fine form. But it is less
difficult to imagine Henman reaching his first final.

If seeding is respected, the man Henman will have to beat
in the semifinals to take the next leap is No. 2-seeded
Andy Roddick, who just won the Queen's Club for the second
straight year. Roddick lost here in the semifinals to
Federer last year, but his first breakthrough in a Grand
Slam event set the table for his United States Open victory
in September. Weather permitting (rain is forecast),
Roddick will play his first match on Tuesday against Wang
Yeu-tzuoo, a 19-year-old qualifier from Taiwan.

"I think a lot of it is between the ears," Roddick said. "I
was playing great tennis at Wimbledon last year. I still
think I was playing well enough to have a chance of
winning, but I've experienced a lot more big matches in the
last year than I probably experienced combined before that.
So I think that's the biggest thing, and just the
confidence of knowing that I can win a Grand Slam."

Now that Andre Agassi has withdrawn, citing concern about
aggravating a hip injury, Roddick is the leading American
man in London. But he is still not as complete a package on
grass as Federer: not entirely at ease serving and
volleying and still vulnerable if made to dig too low for
too many backhands or play too many creative shots in
transition.

Then again, Federer can't crush a serve the way Roddick
can. Federer was beaten in the third round in Paris, but
grass is another matter. Take it from the 14th-seeded Fish,
who lost to Federer in the third round at Wimbledon last
year and in the final in Halle, Germany, on June 13.

"He gave me a little more last year than this year," Fish
said. "He plays every point now. Even when it's 40-15, a
routine game, and you're serving, it's not over. He's
bearing down and still trying to keep you in the game."

But this Wimbledon is not going to be just the second of
many odes to the manifold strengths of Federer. It is also
going to be heavy on first-week nostalgia.

Goran Ivanisevic is back to finish his career at the place
that first defined him as a charismatic head case and
redefined him as a symbol of the benefits of perseverance
when he finally won in 2001 as a wild card. His fragile
left shoulder, which eventually required surgery, and other
pains and aches have kept him from returning until now.

Martina Navratilova has had plenty of opportunities to
revel in her record nine singles titles at Wimbledon, but
she, too, will be back. She has not played singles here in
10 years, but at 47, she decided to ask for and accept a
singles wild card, as she did at the French Open, where she
lost in the first round.

One women's rivalry has a chance to be renewed. Although
Venus and Serena Williams missed much of last season
because of injuries and the death of their half sister,
Yetunde, the absentees of late have been their Belgian
successors atop the ranking: No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne
and No. 2 Kim Clijsters. Both will miss Wimbledon,
Henin-Hardenne because of the lingering effects of a viral
infection and Clijsters because of her postoperative left
wrist.

In their absence, the women's draw is no longer so
compelling. The Williams sisters were beaten in the
quarterfinals at the French Open.

"We just were both pretty disappointed in ourselves,"
Serena Williams said. "But we had to get over it quickly
because there was Wimbledon around the corner, and we don't
want to bring the bad karma to Wimbledon."

Although Serena is ranked 10th and Venus 8th, Serena was
bumped up to the No. 1 seeding and Venus to No. 3. They
have each won twice here, yet they remain vulnerable until
proven confident and consistent.

In the meantime, another Russian winner is hardly out of
the question. Anastasiya Myskina became the first woman
from her nation to claim a Grand Slam singles title by
winning the French Open, and her compatriots Mariya
Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova won grass-court events in
the last two weeks.

"I would love it if there were four of us in the
semifinals," said Myskina, fresh off a lunch last week at
the Moscow home of Boris Yeltsin, the former Russian
president.

"He had some tips for me," Myskina said. "He is always
like, 'You should play down the line more.' "

In light of recent results, the ones in greater need of
advice are the Williamses.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/21/sports/tennis/21tennis.html?ex=1088796600&ei=1\
&en=8ca3b3f1c7e63686


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