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by Christopher Gerby The New York Buzz lost a heartbreaking match in their season opener, but help was on the way as three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker joined them for match # 2. Playing in sleepy Schenectady, NY may not have been the most glamorous endeavor for a legend to engage in mere days before his Hall of Fame induction, but it's an experience Becker was looking forward to. "I haven't been playing and that's exactly the reason why I'm going to play now. I've heard a lot about it and I have been speaking with John and Patrick McEnroe about it, and they like it a lot, and that's why I wanted to be a part of the team this summer... I stopped playing professional tennis in ' 99; I took a three-year break where I didn't play at all. I also have never played for an American team and I thought it would be fun for me." Looking to spoil Becker's fun were the visiting Hartford FoxForce, fresh off a win over New York's other WTT franchise. Hartford boasted an eclectic lineup: a hard-working member of the American Fed Cup team (Meghann Shaughnessy); a veteran of 27 ATP doubles finals (Jeff Tarango); a reigning Wimbledon mixed doubles semifinalist (Milagros "Millie" Sequera); and a youngster from Down Under (Stephen Huss). They even had an extra member, Martina Muller, who will see playing time when Shaughnessy ends her stint with the team. There wasn't even a chair available for Muller when she first arrived, but she was a good sport throughout the evening, laughing with her teammates and even fraternizing with Don Johnson of the Buzz. First set: men's doubles -- Becker/Johnson vs. Huss/Tarango Becker's WTT inexperience showed on the evening's very first point. After a Johnson serve skimmed the tape and the ball came back, Becker absent-mindedly blocked it into the net, forgetting that lets are played in Team Tennis. Johnson put a comforting arm around Boris, who declared, "I'm ready now!" But the rust of not playing on a regular basis was evident as Becker punched a volley long to end a break of Johnson's serve. Still adjusting to the raucous atmosphere, Becker asked Tarango to hold off on serving until some late arriving fans sat down. Sensing that movement in the stands was no big deal in WTT, the German asked, "Is that allowed? Oh, everything's allowed." A couple games later, when the umpire warned against flash photography, Becker exclaimed, "It's Team Tennis!" He was obviously having fun, but Hartford's doubles team saved multiple break points en route to a 3-1 lead. Becker ended Game 5 with a mighty overhead smash, now fully warmed up and looking like his old self...save for the new spiky, Petr Korda-ish hairdo, which earned him quite a bit of ribbing from the fans. The Buzz finally converted a break chance against Tarango, Johnson authoritatively putting away an overhead for 3-3. Jeff's vintage temper boiled over as the momentum shifted. He argued a line call in Game 7 and violently slammed his racket after missing with a forehand on game point. Huss calmly held serve for 4-all, though, and the evening's first set would have to be settled in a tiebreak...
OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 5, FOXFORCE 4 Second set: men's singles -- Boris Becker vs. Jeff Tarango In all my years attending World Team Tennis matches in Schenectady, I can never recall a player being booed when introduced at the start of a set. Of course, this is Jeff Tarango's first WTT campaign. The 34-year-old does pride himself on thriving in the face of a hostile crowd, though, and he came up with a nice inside-out forehand winner to clinch the first singles game of the night. What he didn't have an answer for was the vaunted Becker serve. It looked good as ever when "Boom Boom" launched two aces in an easy hold for 1-1. Becker promptly broke for 2-1 and rocketed three consecutive aces on the way to 3-1. A frustrated Tarango wondered aloud, "Can't you fire some of these linespeople?" Becker did a carefree boogie to the Jerry Lee Lewis classic "Great Balls of Fire" during the mid-set changeover, while a considerably more serious Tarango huddled with Stephen Huss. Jeff held for 2-3, but was back to his exasperated antics in the following game, asking umpire Candy Pantano "what are you smoking?!?" (The call in question there is one I can vouch for -- a Becker shot sailed past the baseline and was called good.) Serving to stay alive at 2-4, Tarango felt he got hooked on yet another call ("3 inches in, both lines") and demanded of Pantano, "Who are you paid by?" None of the bluster could quite overshadow the skillful play of Becker, who took the set 5-2 when Tarango muffed a backhand volley. Particularly on his serve, the "Lion of Leimen" was in unquestionably good form. OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 10, FOXFORCE 6 Third set: women's doubles -- De Villiers/Perry vs. Sequera/Shaughnessy Having played nervously in doubles on Monday night, Shenay Perry looked no better in her first game of action against Hartford. She netted a volley on break point to give the FoxForce an early edge. Nannie de Villiers (sporting funky new glasses) was just as hopeless, bouncing her racket in despair after blowing a routine volley to trail 0-3. After Sequera held for 4-0, all the Buzz women could hope for was avoiding the dreaded bagel. With the help of a timely overrule, they rallied from a 0-40 deficit on Perry's serve to get on the board. Becker got out of his seat and gave his teammates a positive double fist pump, urging them on. Across the way, Tarango pulled some money out of his wallet and yelled "Hey, Boris!" I thought Jeff was offering a friendly wager on the outcome of the set, but he explained his real intent to me later on. "I was wondering what was going on with all the line calls!" Paying off the officials would prove unnecessary: Shaughnessy and Sequera continued playing very sharp doubles, locking up a 5-1 set when Meghann deftly fielded a high forehand volley. OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 11, FOXFORCE 11 Fourth set: women's singles -- Shenay Perry vs. Meghann Shaughnessy After looking lost in doubles, Shenay Perry did her very best to make up for it in singles. Meghann Shaughnessy was serving big and overpowering her in some of the rallies, but Perry did commendable scrambling to stay on serve. She got to 2 games all by ending a nice rally with a beautiful running forehand. Becker was so impressed, he imitated the stroke during the changeover. Meanwhile, Stephen Huss continued to support his team with shouts of "c'mon Hartford!" which sounded like "c'mon Hot Foot!" in his thick Aussie accent. Dead even at 3-3, Shaughnessy coughed up a pair of double faults and found herself in a dangerous 15-40 hole. Perry failed to convert the first break point, pushing a backhand long and wincing. Meghann followed with a forehand winner, forcing a winner-take-all game point. This also went to Hartford, when Perry couldn't dig out a nifty little slice backhand Shaughnessy had inventively struck. The lanky lass from Arizona was positively beaming after that point, but Perry served very well to 4-4, necessitating a critical tiebreak...
OVERALL SCORE: FOXFORCE 16, BUZZ 15 Fifth set: mixed doubles -- Becker/Perry vs. Tarango/Shaughnessy After choking away a potential New York victory on Monday night, the mixed doubles tandem of Don Johnson and Nannie de Villiers was scrapped altogether by coach Jolene Watanabe. Instead she sent Boris Becker back onto the court with Shenay Perry, who's young enough to be his daughter. Before long, the set was tied at 3 games apiece, with neither Jeff Tarango nor Meghann Shaughnessy having faced a break point. Becker began doing exaggerated knee bends and leg kicks, trying to spur his body on for one last push. Game 7 started off promisingly enough for Hartford. Out of position on an overhead, southpaw Tarango switched his racket over to his right hand and hit an ugly-but-effective smash that way. It was the last point Hartford would win in Shaughnessy's service game. The double fault bug bit her again -- she served up two in a row to trail 3-4. All of a sudden, with the overall score tied, New York only needed a service hold from Perry to score a come-from-behind victory. Not so fast. Looking oh so nervous again, Shenay committed three unforced errors in a love break. The FoxForce were back even in the set, leading overall, and hoping to end matters in a climactic tiebreak...
For the second match in a row, the New York Buzz let down their home fans by falling apart in the deciding set of mixed doubles. Fans who had paid up to $36 didn't seem all that disappointed, however. They came to see one of the all-time greats, who'd delivered a lively demeanor and some stellar serving. "Boris was great tonight," said Jolene Watanabe afterwards. "He brought some electricity to the match and he played very well." For his part, Becker put a similarly sunny spin on the effort. "We gave it a good try...I thought the whole team played well." Asked if he felt any nerves in his WTT debut, Boris explained, "You don't feel nervous, but you have a responsibility -- for all the people who paid tickets and came out here -- that you give a good performance. So this is a positive pressure, I'd call it." In spite of the loss, he summed up the evening as "good fun, good team spirit, and a good event." Hitting the final shot in a tense victory had left Jeff Tarango in an affable mood, so I flagged down the fiery Californian for a one-on-one interview. "I was really surprised he played that well," Tarango said of his singles loss to Becker. "I hope I can play him again someday, because that was a great match. He's beaten me twice now, so that's life." The incessant music and boisterous fans of World Team Tennis might not seem a natural fit with Jeff's touchy on-court disposition, but he enjoys the atmosphere. "It's a lot of fun, isn't it? The crowd's into it. I mean, I'd rather have them be into it and me get upset. For me, at the end of the day, it's more fun. Even though I might not seem like I'm having fun at the time, I'm still having fun." Now in the twilight of his playing career, Tarango has made some news as a coach. He guided Younes El Aynaoui to the Australian Open quarterfinals, but the pair parted ways in late April. "I'm coaching Vince Spadea for a little bit," Tarango confirmed, before admitting he's hesitant to pursue that line of work full time. "I'm trying to decide right now. I don't think so." He'll be plenty busy on court for the rest of the month anyway, aiding the as-yet-undefeated Hartford FoxForce with his competitive spirit and wily gamesmanship. They appear to be on a much better track than the New York Buzz, who'll be hard pressed to avoid a third consecutive home loss when Andy Roddick and the St. Louis Aces breeze into town on Friday. |