Go to ESPN.com. Go ahead. Do it. Now, on the left with the sports headlines you'll notice one you've probably never seen before, six down, right below "Motorsports." Click it. Don't worry, it's painless, click it. There ya go. Welcome to the world of tennis.
I know you usually don't see past the "MLB," "NBA" and "NFL" links, but think of this as an adventure, an insight into a sport that extends beyond the border of the old US of A, where the No. 1 player in the world actually had to play someone from (gulp) another continent to gain that ranking and truly be the best in the world. And to top it all off, you don't just get a men's No. 1, but a women's No. 1 as well! That's a two-for-one deal that can't be beat.
Tennis has never been able to grab a foothold in this country, as you can see from its status below "Motorsports." It's always been seen as the preppy, boring sport, linked with the likes of cricket and polo. But it has its own excitement. It's got its own thrills. Sure, a home run is great, but how about a blazing 153 mph serve?
You want to talk about gutsy performances? Kirk Gibson's walk off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series was inspirational, but what about Pete Sampras' performance in the 1996 U.S. Open Quarterfinals? After losing his coach to brain cancer earlier in the year, Sampras gutted out a grueling four-hour and nine-minute match, vomiting twice on the court, but managing to pull out the win after saving a match point and dealing up a second-serve ace.
The Yankees and Celtics might define dynasty, but the exploits of Pistol Pete and his record 14 Grand Slam victories are just as impressive. And he did it all by his lonesome. Tennis also has the honor of remaining one of the few sports that has yet to be tarnished by scandal this year. But let's go over some of the logistics of the forgotten sport.
Instead of one season-ending championship, tennis has the Grand Slams, and unlike every other sport except golf, you get four tournaments instead of one boring one. Although there is a championship to determine the number one player of the men and women, that's like the conference championships of NCAA basketball; the Slams are March Madness, just all summer long.
First up is the Australian Open in January. The Aussie Open is a tough one, definitely the least popular, and since it's shown at three in the morning over here, most people forget about it. Then the season really kicks off in May with the French Open. Held on the clay of Roland Garros, the French is like the NBA Finals: gritty, dirty, and always a good show.
Then you've got Wimbledon in England between June and July; the timeless championship; think World Series, just in white polos and tennis skirts. Finally comes the Super Bowl of the tennis world in August and September: The U.S. Open, held in New York. This is the Slam that Never Sleeps and the only tournament featuring play during both day and night. So now that you're summer plans are set, we need to know just who will be competing.
If you're going to enjoy tennis, you need to know whom you're rooting for or against. Let's go over some of the big names. The men's side features a growing number of young guns like American Andy Roddick, Swiss-born and No. 1 in the world Roger Federer and upstart Spaniard Rafael Nadal. But the old guys are still kicking, too, with the likes of the venerable American Andre Agassi and Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, tennis' version of John Rocker.
But my personal favorite is the Limey, Tim Henman. Hailing from England, he holds the dubious distinction of being quite possibly the best tennis player never to have won a Grand Slam. He's made his way to the semi-finals of Wimbledon several times, but always comes up short. Maybe it's the Red Sox side of my personality, but you gotta love the underdog.
The women's side features Americans Serena and Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport, as well as the Belgian Mighty Mouse, Justine Henin-Hardenne. She stands just over 5'5", but her powerful backhand has led her to three Grand Slam victories in the last two years. The last few seasons have also featured a Russian Revolution, with an explosion of talent emerging from behind the old Iron Curtain, including Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, and Nadia Petrova. And unlike the WNBA, I promise, the WTA will not bore you to sleep.
What makes tennis so unique is that it is truly one of the few non-team sports that remain competitive and interesting (sadly golf does not meet that last requirement). With tennis it's just you and your opponent. No coach to help you, no teammates to support you. You are the pitcher and catcher, the quarterback, the point guard, and the goalie all rolled into one. Any mistake made is yours and yours alone, but so are the victories. It may take a while, but once you begin to get tennis, you'll be hooked. And hopefully after you've expanded your own sports universe with tennis, you can move on to something more obscure, like that link a few below "Tennis" on ESPN.com. Something called "NHL."
Andrew Bauld is a sophomore majoring in history. He can be reached at Andrew.Bauld@tufts.edu.
