This week we get caught up with the latest developments in the charges brought against French ?Bad Dad? Christophe Fauviau, the man accused of drugging his children?s opponents. Heading back to the courts, we note that the close of the season shapes up as most intriguing, with in-form Taylor Dent and Anastasia Myskina challenging the higher-ranked stars who are battling for the coveted prizes at stake, the top ranking and places in the year-end championships. Let?s get to it!
Bad Dad?s drugging investigation widens
Some of you may be wondering what has become of the strange case of Christophe Fauviau. Fauviau is the former French army colonel who was charged in August with involuntary manslaughter for drugging Alexandre Lagardère, an opponent of his 16-year-old son Maxime in a French regional tournament. Allegedly, this led to Lagardère?s falling asleep at the wheel, and subsequent death in an automobile accident.
According to reports from France this week, the authorities feel that papa Fauviau?s misdeeds went far beyond this one case. They are gathering testimony and evidence from a number of players who say they felt drowsy or nauseous when playing Maxime Fauviau and his 13-year-old sister Valentine. Investigators say the volume of suspicious cases means the gathering of evidence may take several more months.
Christophe Fauviau, according to the allegations, made a horrible habit of slipping an anti-stress drug named Temesta into the water bottles of his children?s opponents. His son Maxime was apparently a player of modest talent who had no realistic hope of a pro career. But the same was not true of young Valentine. The young girl was the top-ranked French player in her age group this summer. Valentine was already playing junior events internationally, and reportedly is more than talented enough to win m
atches without her father?s ?help?. Now her hopes of forging a professional career may be totally destroyed by the notoriety surrounding her family..
A recent article in the French daily Le Parisien cited a police report indicating that 24 of Valentine?s past opponents testified to feeling unusual physical symptoms during their matches. But Fauviau?s lawyer, sensing a witch-hunt, affirmed, ?There is no evidence to corroborate this testimony,? adding that some of the unusual sensations described by the girls were incompatible with the known side effects of Temesta.
It is easy to draw a lesson here about the bad parents who will stoop to any depths to push their children ahead in the increasingly cut-throat world of junior tennis. Too easy, we think. If the allegations are true, this man was probably sick enough to drug children at a checkers tournament or a spelling bee. The tragedy lies in the death of a young man, and in the future of a young girl who, through no fault of her own, will likely never live down the shame.
Novak, Ljubicic and Dent steal Paradorn?s thunder
The international successes of Thailand?s top tennis talents, Tamarine Tanasugarn and Paradorn Srichaphan, have transformed Thai tennis from an obscure pastime of the wealthy to a massively popular sport. Srichaphan, as the first Thai ever to reach the top ten, has become a national icon. So it was with great excitement that Thai fans welcomed their hero back to Bangkok for two big events -- a Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic two weeks ago, immediately followed by the first ATP tournament to be
played in Thailand.
Sadly for his faithful, Paradorn was a bit of a disappointment in both events.
In the Davis Cup tie, any hope Thailand had of beating the Czechs depended on Paradorn toppling the number one player on the Czech side, the solid veteran Jiri Novak. Despite the roars of the partisan crowd, and, according to and angry Novak, a number of ?patriotic? decisions by partisan Thai linesman, Srichaphan delivered a shaky performance in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss, to seal the Czech triumph.
At the following week?s Thailand Open, still in Bangkok, Paradorn was hoping to have a chance to redeem himself by turning in a stellar performance. But it was not to be. Despite the encouragement of the home fans, including the attractive Thai pop star Amita Tata Young (rumoured to be dating Paradorn), the local hero fell in the quarterfinals to the dangerous Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, 4-6 7-6(4) 7-5. After the match, the dejected Srichaphan wept.
Paradorn?s father/coach Chanachai said his son?s discomfort could be explained by the pressure of being a hometown hero. ?Ball (his nickname) was very determined and that put pressure on himself. I never saw him cry before. This is a good lesson for him for next year's tournament.''
The good news for Thai tennis was that, even with the home favourite eliminated, large and enthusiastic crowds came out to watch the semis and finals. The players seemed to appreciated the atmosphere, and some went so far as to bow to the fans in the traditional Thai gesture known as the ?wai? after their matches. For the record, the tournament champion Taylor Dent was voted by the local press as performing the ?most beautiful wai?.
Dent and Myskina tear up the indoor circuit
Taylor Dent was not content with showing the wai. He has also been showing the way -- to victory, that is -- by following up his title in Thailand with a championship in Moscow the following week. Dent?s booming serve and energetic net play work particularly well indoors, and the 22-year-old son of former Australian pro Phil Dent has had his big weapons firing on all cylinders.
Dent has been criticized in the past for being out of shape, but after working on his conditioning and strength in recent months, Taylor has nullified these critiques. And his improved fitness has helped his movement and endurance, allowing him to display an impressive range of baseline drives and volleys. ?He?s a tennis genius,? marvelled France?s Thierry Ascione after losing 6-1, 6-2 to Dent in Bangkok. ?The match took only 45 minutes and it would have only lasted 30 if it hadn?t been on TV!?
It should be pointed out that, during his two-week run, Dent defeated only one elite player -- world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, whom Dent defeated in the Bangkok final. It will be interesting to see how the rapidly-improving American fares at the upcoming Masters Series events in Madrid and Paris, where most of the big guns should be present.
Perhaps even more impressive has been the showing of another rampant 22-year-old, Anastasia Myskina. The raven-haired Muscovite has also just finished winning two titles in two weeks (Leipzig and Moscow).
Like Dent, Myskina is making the most of the indoor season. The fast conditions suit her game well. She serves and returns well, and her flat, deep ground strokes that flirt with the lines often scoot beyond the range of her opponents. Unlike Dent, Myskina has had some pretty tough competition during her streak. The Russian knocked off a trio of highly-regarded players: the battling Belgians ranked atop the WTA, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, were among her Leipzig victims, while in Moscow she convinc
ingly accounted for #7 Amélie Mauresmo in the final.
Myskina will be looking to end the season on a high note with two big year-end dates in November, the Tour Championships in Los Angeles and the Fed Cup finals in her home town, Moscow. She will be a woman to watch, especially since they will both be disputed indoors.