This week, Mr Ed stops in at the Emirates to witness some odd scores in Dubai, and then pauses to contemplate Venus Williams and her rise to number one.
"Tanks for the memories" in Dubai
We surely recall Marcelo Ríos and his infamous critique of women's tennis at the Austrialian Open in January. "I always say that men's tennis is too tough," observed Marcelo. "It's not like girls, where they win one and love until they're in the quarters."
At that time, many female players had something to say in response to Ríos. One of the saltier rejoinders came from Sandrine Testud, in comments to the French media. "There aren't any girls who tank matches," replied the French veteran. "The guys play every week just for money, with guarantees in some places. They go there, tank the first round, thank you and goodbye!"
Indeed, the ATP occasionally has to deal with the issue of players not giving their best effort, particularly at periods of the season such as the present one. The calendar is currently filled with events of relatively minor importance. Because of the way the ranking system is structured, the more active players can dump a match without any effect on their ranking position. And, Lord knows, the better players certainly don't need the money.
The tournament in Dubai this week appeared to be a case in point, as it was filled with scores worthy of a Marcelo Ríos Ladies' Open. Only three of the 24 matches in the first two rounds lasted three sets, and some of the scores were quite lopsided.
The first result to raise eyebrows was Rainer Schuettler's 6-3, 6-1 defeat of one of the in-form players of this year, sixth seed Roger Federer, in the second round. The young Swiss star turned in such a lame effort that he was reported to the ATP by the unhappy Dubai tournament director, Jeff Chapman. If the tour's governing body agrees with Chapman, Roger could lose his Dubai prize money.
The very next day in the quarterfinals, another "walkabout" brought forth further tanking suspicions. This episode involved second-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who was blown out by Jiri Novak, 6-1, 6-1. While it is not fair to say that Federer has developed a reputation for throwing away matches, Kafelnikov has often been suspected of this transgression in the past. This time, suspicions were cast by none other than his opponent. "It cannot happen that I can beat him, 6-1, 6-1," admitted Novak after his
surprisingly easy win. "Maybe he wasn't fighting in that match."
Suspicions of tanking have been raging for years in men's tennis. As long as players are allowed to accept appearance fees regardless of their results, and play tournaments that wind up not counting toward their ranking, these accusations will not subside any time soon.
Venus on top of the world
Mr Ed extends his hearty congratulations to the new number one on the women's tour, Venus Williams. The two-time Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion thereby fulfills the prophesy of her father Richard, albeit somewhat later than expected, at the ripe old age of 21.
As many commentators have pointed out, Williams has been regarded as the "uncrowned number one" for some time now: at least since the summer of 2000, when she won strung together 36 consecutive wins, including Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Olympics. Lisa Dillman's comment in the Los Angeles Times was typical: "Computer wisdom finally caught up with conventional wisdom in women's tennis today."
According to the aforementioned "conventional wisdom", the last two players to finish the season at number one, Martina Hingis in 2000 and Lindsay Davenport last year, were undeserving of the honour because they had not won any of the four majors in those years. In an effort to mollify conventional wisdom, the WTA went so far as to boost the ranking points awarded for the Grand Slam tournaments. Finally, it seems we have a number one we can live with.
Without meaning to minimize Venus's historic accomplishment, however, one might point out a slight irony in all this. While it is true that the points Williams gained by winning two majors last year are counting toward her current ranking, the points that pushed her over the top were obtained at relatively minor Tier II events -- Paris, Antwerp and Dubai. This was a string of three straight tournaments that the notoriously inactive Williams would probably not have considered playing in past years, and t
he type of scheduling for which Hingis has been criticized in some quarters ("She's padding her ranking!"). To add to the irony, Hingis eschewed these tournaments this season, preferring to rest for the more important Tier I tourneys in Indian Wells and Miami, and watch new boyfriend Sergio García golf.
But that's okay, Venus. Mr Ed has always maintained that the tour is important, and the stars should support these events the year round. Just don't make the mistake of finishing the year at number one without winning a Slam. You'll never live it down.