Looking back over the first 10 "The Line Judge" columns over the past
six months, I came to a somewhat startling conclusion. There were just
not any very memorable lines from the past tennis year. Sure we had
some fun along the way -- but in recent times what year has not seen
the verbal sparring between the Williams family and Martina Hingis or
John McEnroe confidently spatting off about one thing or another?
Relatively speaking we were without anything controversial or even the
dreaded "foot in mouth disease." One thinks back to the beginning of
the 1999 season when both Hingis and Davenport got it some heat over
"manly" references regarding Amelie Mauresmo.
The only time we really
delved into some serious territory was in late May when Andrei Medvedev
dissed Americans (insinuating Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras) on their
lack of humility when it came to competing on clay and preparing for
the French Open. The 1999 French Open finalist then went into a rant
over inequities at Wimbledon. Medvedev claimed that "name" players
received preferential treatment in a handful of ways.
So, otherwise we were the majority of memorable moments came from
controversial tennis fathers, Richard Williams and Damir Dokic.
In Venus Williams's case she found herself correcting her father's
statements regarding her alleged retirement. Venus stated she "never
considered retiring too much." So, in other words, not directly
dismissing her dad's comments but apparently saying that there was not
ever much truth in the "let's get some publicity" comment. Unlike
Venus, Jelena Dokic appears to be a mere puppet for her father's
propaganda. The equally "stirring the pot" Dokic said this year that
she would never play for Australia again after reaching the seminfinals
of the Sydney Olympics. My bet that a collective sigh of relief was
heard throughout Tennis Australia when the Dokic family applied for
Yugoslavian passports with plans to return to their ancesteral homeland.
The most fun that I had with "lines" this year was around and about
Anna Kournikova. Despite having her best year on the Tour (though still
without that tournament title), Kournikova found herself talking about
everything but her tennis. From her rumored engagement to one hockey
player (and the re-wooing from another hockey player "ex") to a 'lil
catfight with model/actress Liz Hurley to a GQ cover proclaiming
"Don't Call Me Lolita," Kournikova's off the court "news" tended to
eclipse her chosen career. My favorite "Kourni" moment came during
a promotional press conference. Attempting to get the questioning
back on its true purpose, the blonde Russian simply stated "Let's talk
about bras."
So this year may have not been the most quotable, I am confident
I will have interesting "lines" to share with you over the next year.
Until then, have a happy holiday season and best wishes for a
smashing new year.