9402010701
DETROIT FREE PRESS
940907
Wednesday, September 07, 1994
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1994, Detroit Free Press
SAMPRAS, GRAF DO THEIR BEST; WE DON'T
NEW YORK -- People want to take Pete Sampras, throw him on a slab, hook up
the wires and flip the switch -- a la Dr. Frankenstein. They want a
personality transplant, something from the brains of John McEnroe or Jimmy
Connors, assuming those brains exist.
This is the hot topic in tennis media. Pete Sampras, they say, is a
wonderfully nice guy and the greatest player on earth. Then they cut to
another shot of Brooke Shields clapping in the stands for her shaggy
boyfriend, Andre Agassi. Now that, Pete. Give us that, Pete. Can't you get a
girl we've heard of, Pete?
On the women's side, it's the same thing. They are praying for Steffi
Graf to bang her head, suffer amnesia, and come back as Cyndi Lauper. Some
color, Steffi! Or at least, take longer on the court. Graf's matches at this
U.S. Open take less time than getting a sandwich in the food court. And at
least with the sandwich, there's emotion. As in, "What? Twelve dollars for a &
percent&$#! sandwich?"
Such a sorry state for tennis, critics say. No personality. Boring
champions.
Well. At the risk of running counter to popular opinion, I suggest that the
problem with Sampras (who lost to Jaime Yzaga in five sets Tuesday after
fighting exhaustion and sore feet) and Graf (whose quarterfinal match is
today) has nothing to do with them. It has to do with whom they're playing.
And it has to do with us.
First, whom they're playing. When fans harken fondly to Connors and McEnroe
-- and the truth is, much of what they did was obnoxious, crude, and back then
we complained about it -- they are using selective memory. They don't pine
for McEnroe or Connors against the mighty Eddie Dibbs.
No. They remember them playing each other. Same goes for Bjorn Borg --
whose personality makes Sampras look like Robin Williams. Borg was a snore off
the court, but he was contrast for McEnroe and Connors. Shadow to their light.
Their classic matchups were classic because you had to choose sides. You were
a Borg guy or a Mac guy. The same way you were Lakers or Celtics.
Same goes for women's tennis, where nostalgia sighs in the words "Chrissie
and Martina." Notice how they're mentioned in tandem. "Chrissie and Martina."
Their rivalry excited us. No one -- at least I think no one -- yearns for
Martina vs. Peanut Louie.
The point is, rivalries give us drama, not individuals. And whom does
Sampras have as a regular rival? Jim Courier -- who, to me, always looked a
little washed out -- now plays like it. One day he's here, the next day he
wants to quit. Boris Becker broods like a Bergman film ("Who am I, where am
I, why is there air?"). Michael Chang is not strong enough to challenge
consistently. Stefan Edberg is a new daddy and playing like it.
Agassi would be a great foil. But waiting for Agassi is like waiting for
the next Bruce Springsteen album. Years can go by. He has won one Grand Slam
title -- Wimbledon -- and for all the disco noise that he makes, his tennis
has been so weak before this tournament, he wasn't even seeded here.
If Agassi ever became what his tennis seductively suggests, he and Sampras
would already be a '90s Borg-McEnroe. Unfortunately, between Barbra and
Brooke, Andre went wifty.
Is that Sampras' fault?
As for Graf, well, she suffers, ironically, from the absence of Monica
Seles. Don't forget that Seles was the stronger player when that lunatic
stabbed her in Germany. She is younger than Graf, and kookier, with a
paparazzi persona that Graf shuns. The contrast would have been fun over the
years. Have we forgotten that Seles beat Graf in the 1992 French Open in a
great final that went to 10-8 in the last set? Or that one month later, Graf
got revenge, beating Seles in the Wimbledon final? A few more of those, and
nobody would complain about drama.
But without Seles, Graf is often too good for the field. Seles' attacker
said he did it out of crazed love for Steffi. In truth, he didn't do her any
favors.
Again, that's not Graf's fault. All she and Sampras are doing is playing
the best they know how -- and handling themselves with class. If it seems dull
compared to our fond memories of Borg, McEnroe, Evert, etc. -- well, remember,
that was the '70s and early '80s. We had more patience then. Everything didn't
move at MTV pace. Everyone didn't have to be Charles Barkley.
It's the audience that can't sit through three hours of tennis anymore,
not the players. It's the audience that is addicted to a Nike image. The truth
is, if you stuck Agassi's tennis inside Sampras' body, he'd be worse.
On Tuesday, Sampras -- who has been out with injury the last five weeks --
played a terrifically dramatic fifth set, bending at the waist, sucking air,
coming back from 5-2 to tie 5-5, while looking like he was one step from the
ambulance. It was great tennis. But because it was long (nearly four hours)
and against an unknown, it may not have thrilled the general public.
Well. Whose fault is that?
NEW YORK; U.S OPEN; TENNIS; TOURNAMENT; CHAMPIONSHIP; AUDIENCE;;TEAM; COMPETITION; PETE SAMPRAS; ANDRE AGASSI; STEFFI GRAFF; MAJOR