Pursuing Federer boosts interest
The post-Pete Sampras vacuum in men's tennis has been charitably described as a ''transition period.'' Or you could just call it what it was: Dull.
While women's tennis was producing rich rivalries and memorable matches, men's tennis was about as intriguing as a two-shot rally. Wham, bam, yawn.
No more. Men's tennis has found its new star -- the sublime Roger Federer -- and he has three worthy adversaries. Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt have all lost to Federer more than they have beaten him, but the chase has just begun. It continues for the next week and a half at the NASDAQ-100 Open, the ''fifth major,'' right here on Key Biscayne.
The Fantastic Four -- all but Hewitt (toe injury) will be playing in the NASDAQ-100 -- give the game a chance to return to the heights of the 1970s and 1980s, when the diverse playing styles and clashing personalities of the likes of Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker made tennis so entertaining.
With Andre Agassi in the twilight of his career, tennis needs a charisma replenishment. Federer, Roddick, Safin and Hewitt have converged at the right moment. This is a quartet with high Q ratings.
Federer is like an exquisite Swiss timepiece. Even casual fans marvel at his movement and artistry. He won three Grand Slams last year. Already he is being compared to the greatest players in history.
Roddick personifies everything American: The rocket serve, the bared emotions, the baseball cap. He talks fast, plays faster.
Safin is the Russian conundrum. You never know what you'll get.
Will he smash another racket (as he has done more than once)?
Pull his shorts down (as he did at the French Open last year)?
Argue with a linesman?
Built like a middle linebacker, he possesses a rare combination of power, shot-making skill and agility that can defeat anybody,
if he can win his own head games.
Like the Australian Outback, Hewitt will wear you down. He just keeps going and going, fighting, scrapping, bashing from the baseline. Annoying, too, in his on-court histrionics. Not a craftsman, but a counter-puncher.
''There could be some amazing matches because they each play their own brand of tennis,'' said Brad Gilbert, Roddick's former coach. 'You get a combination of any of those four playing a match and you say, `Oh, I have to check that out.' ''
COMMON THREADS
All are younger than 25, have been the world's top-ranked player and have won at least one Grand Slam. They separated themselves from the pack last year and could do so again this year. The last time the same four men's players dominated the top four slots was 1983-85 when McEnroe, Lendl, Connors and Mats Wilander were a cut above.
''To keep tennis in the public consciousness, you need familiar names going at it,'' Patrick McEnroe said. ``People want to see Kansas and Kentucky. For a while the problem with men's tennis was too much depth.''
Rivalries are the lifeblood of tennis. Federer and Roddick recalled watching Becker vs. Stefan Edberg. Hewitt loved Connors vs. McEnroe. Rivalries are blossoming now among the four.
Take Safin's thriller (9-7 in the fifth set) against Federer at the Australian Open two months ago. Federer leads Safin 6-2 all-time, including a third-set, 20-18 win at the 2004 Masters Cup. Three of Hewitt's four losses in Grand Slams last year were to Federer, but Hewitt did come back from two sets down to beat Federer in a 2003 Davis Cup match. Federer's 8-1 lead over Roddick is deceiving; the sparks always fly between the two, including at Wimbledon in 2003 and '04.
''I don't know if in a rivalry you need one time the one wins, one time the other wins,'' Federer said. ``I just think you've got to play each other often in the big matches. The ones I played in the last Grand Slams I won were Marat, Andy and Lleyton. So that's definitely a good sign for the future.''
Federer is having the same effect on tennis that Tiger Woods had on golf. He's forcing his opponents to improve.
''Anyone who wants to be in the top group of tennis needs to adjust himself to Roger,'' said Safin, who referred to what he has adjusted. ``Being more professional, more consistent. Was not my case, but I'm getting there.
``Hewitt has improved a lot his serve, his forehand, his volley. Roddick improved his volleys. He's moving much better. He became much smarter. We are growing.''
GETTING BETTER
Cliff Drysdale thinks the quality of men's tennis declined when Sampras retired but that it has risen the past two years.
''I've never seen a more complete player -- and I'm going back to Pancho Gonzalez -- than Federer,'' said Drysdale, a TV analyst and former pro. ``Safin is the next most talented; he's only 10 percent lesser in stroke-making genius but needs to tame his demons. Andy won't be satisfied until he figures out a way to beat Federer, and that will require more variety and more strategy from him. And although Hewitt is limited, he can pounce on any lapse and turn the match around on you.''
What will it take to dethrone Federer? During the six consecutive years when Sampras was No. 1, there were five different No. 2s.
Todd Martin, who played against all four before he retired, said Federer -- who has won the last 16 finals he has appeared in -- can be the best ever ''because he doesn't shy away from being No. 1 like Pete did.'' But he's not indestructible.
''Roddick has the best serve in tennis, Safin often has the best return, and Hewitt is the most tenacious,'' Martin said. ``If they could each develop one more attacking facet, it will be really interesting.''
Roddick also has to shrug off the pressure of being ''the savior of American tennis,'' Gilbert added.
Each of the four is quick to compliment the others. Each used the same word to describe their generation: Exciting.
''This is what we've been waiting for,'' McEnroe said. ``Patrick Rafter, Gustavo Kuerten and Carlos Moya flirted but never established themselves. Now we've got four guys who understand the big picture. They know tennis needs them to keep pushing each other.''
It seems that Hrbarty always beat marat in ourdoor matches! Worry worry worry... 
and had to go to Spain....etc etc ......if he now knows and believes this of Marat why not say so when he is commentating......... ;D