Around the World with Mr. Ed (October 21, 2000)
by Ed Toombs



This week Mr Ed looks at two departures from the tennis scene ? one sad and the other tragic ? and pays tribute to the racquet artistes of the tour.

Shock retirement announcement from van Roost
18th-ranked Dominique van Roost caught most of us off guard with her surprise announcement that she plans to retire at year-end. Still in her athletic prime at 27, and still a formidable opponent for anyone (recall her upset win over Lindsay Davenport at Roland-Garros this year), at first glance this appears to be a retirement that is all too hasty.

Van Roost has been a fixture on the tour since 1991, when she first caught our attention as Dominique Monami (the Belgian press still refers to her by her maiden name, by the way) by reaching the third round of the U.S. Open as a qualifier. Slight of build at 5'7" and 120 pounds, she could nonetheless spank the ball as hard as anyone in the early 1990s. In fact, the word around the tour at that time was that, if you want to see a ball clobbered violently, you would do as well to watch Dominique than to observe Graf or Seles.

Dominique caught the attention of a wider tennis public at the 1997 Australian Open. That tournament was marked by some of the most inhumanly hot conditions in memory, and Dominique battled successfully through four rounds, notably outlasting the excellent Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 8-6 in the third set, and also taking out 15th seed Chanda Rubin. But the steamy conditions got the better of her, as she gamely battled through back and elbow pain before giving up in the second set of her quarterfinal match ag ainst Mary Joe Fernandez. Still, she had won the hearts of many fans for her brave and stirring run.

This has been an emotionally difficult year for Van Roost, as she suffered through the death of her mother. Although she insists she had made the decision to retire before the loss of her mother, Dominique admitted at the French Open that she lost the motivation to carry on through the family tragedy: "I thought I would stop playing tennis, I was hurting mentally. I questioned myself a lot." Insiders also report that Dominique would like to start a family with her husband Bart, whom she married in 199 5 and who travels with her as her coach.

Dominique's swan song will be at the Fed Cup finals in late November, where she will probably play doubles with her Olympic bronze medal partner Els Callens. On The Line wishes her success and happiness in her post-tennis life.


Black family patriarch passes away
The second departure was considerably more tragic. Both Cara Black and her brother Byron, two thirds of the Black family of pro tennis players (Wayne being the third) withdrew from tournaments this week upon being informed that their father Don was in intensive care in a Zimbabwe hospital. Sadly, he passed away on Thursday after complications from a severe operation (Don Black had been suffering from bowel cancer). He was 73.

Don Black's story deserves to be told, since it was thanks to his efforts that his three children all became successful players. Byron (31) has won 2 singes and 20 doubles titles on the tour; Wayne (26) has won 4 doubles titles and holds singles wins over the likes of Tim Henman and Marcelo Rios; while Cara (21) is a former #1 junior who has developed into a solid top 50 player winning her first career title in January this year, in the Auckland doubles event.

Don Black had been a pretty fair tennis player in his own right. A son of Scottish and English parents, Don had reached the third round of Wimbledon twice in his career. The second time (1956) he was ousted by the great Australian Ashley Cooper, who went on to win Wimbledon two years later. After his playing days ended, Don returned home to become a high school teacher and then an avocado farmer.

But Don Black's greatest obsession was still tennis, and he set about teaching his children the game, hoping to form a future Wimbledon champion. The training he imposed on Byron, Wayne and Cara was rigorous: one hour before school, one hour after school, followed by practice matches. "I would arrange practice matches for them from 4:30pm, usually with bigger opponents because kids their age were no match for them," Don Black told the Africa News Service earlier this year. Cara would usually practice wi th the local boys, including present Zimbabwean Davis Cup member Genius Chidzikwe, because the girls were no match for her.

"The children have done well and I can now look back with pride on what they have done," reflected Don. Ultimately, his goal of producing a Wimbledon champion may have been thwarted by his children's height, or lack thereof: Byron is the tallest of the three at 5' 9". But all three are hard-working, well-liked pros whose skills and determination are appreciated by fans around the world. An excellent legacy for Don Black to have left the tennis world.


Artistes worthy of Toulouse-Lautrec?
One of the joys of following the men's tournament in Toulouse this week has been savoring the brilliant texts of French journalist Christian Railhac in the local newspaper La Dépêche du Midi. This passage, an ode to the flamboyant stylists of the tour, was particularly tasty (my translation):

"What is talent? Making the difficult appear easy? That which permits a player, without apparent effort, to achieve what others do while suffering? Not being normal? Being recognized even when disguised? Fans are blessed by players such as Escudé, Rios and Arazi. They are different from all those players who have a respectable style. Who likes a respectable style? The 'artists' are unique in that their defeats are sweet, their flaws godsends. If they were complete, they would be lacking something. "

Long live the racquet artistes! Vive Christian Railhac!


You may read previous Mr. Ed columns by clicking here.

// -->