McEnroe wins London Opener; Tennis-X Year-end Gift Just About Wrapped

Posted on December 4, 2003

Australia and France wrapped up the 2003 tennis campaign with Davis Cup and Fed Cup team titles respectively, and now Tennis-X will do the same. We'll wrap up some days off, wrap some early Christmas presents, and later this week wrap up the entire year with the "2003 Tennis-X Year-end Awards."

Bear with us while our server gets switched over from the the Commodore 64 to the new state-of-the-art Apple IIe. Faster than the distribution of the Paris Hilton video on the Internet, and easier that dropping your kids off at the Neverland Ranch for Michael Jackson to babysit, we'll be up and running just like that. Soon after, look for the "Best of Notes, Quotes and Barbs," reviewing the high- and low-lights of each month of the year that was two thousand three. Perhaps we'll even share the recipe, soon to be debuted at the staff holiday party, for or 90% proof punch. With fruity things floating in it. And sherbet. Drop your keys at the door, grab a cup and tune in later this week.

TOUR NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
The ATP senior tour year-ending Honda Challenge is this week in London, with the round robin "Accord Group" comprised of John McEnroe, Guy Forget, Mats Wilander, and Jeremy "Master" Bates, and the "Civic Group" containing Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Henri Leconte, and Mikael Pernfors. The top two players from each group advance to the semifinals...After a title drought, since picking up the Dunlop racquet again John McEnroe has won back-to-back tournaments in Eindhoven and Monte Carlo: "I think it does make a difference. It's been a God-send. It has the feel that I'm looking for but it has a little power too so I get a combination of the two -- that was a nice surprise. I'm not making this up, I feel like I'm playing as well as I've been playing for 10 years...I started using Dunlop when I was a kid, idolizing Rod Laver. They used to have wood racquets with pictures of the players on and it was a big goal to get a Rod Laver wooden Dunlop Maxfply Fort. I used those for a number of years, went to the Max 200G, which was one of the first graphites -- a fantastic racquet, then I left Dunlop for a period of time and I think it's sort of fitting that I finish up my career using an updated 200G version."...Wednesday results at the London seniors event: John McEnroe d. Jeremy Bates 4-6, 6-4, 10-6, Michael Stich d. Mikael Pernfors 6-1, 6-0, Henri Leconte d. Boris Becker 6-3, 6-2...Mark Philippoussis underwent a scan on Monday and was diagnosed with a muscle tear in his chest and shoulder, suffered during his five-set Davis Cup-clinching win over Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero Sunday, but the injury is not as bad as first feared...Kim Clijsters says she will skip the Athens Olympics next year because the Belgian team's adidas sponsorship would conflict with her personal Fila contract: "I've decided not to go to the Olympic Games. I want to remain fair to the people I made a contract with. They were the only ones who wanted me two years ago." It is the second time in two months that the world No. 2 has blown off her country, last month refusing to represent Belgium in the Fed Cup semifinals in Moscow...Aussie doubles specialist Todd Woodbridge says he is playing too well to retire, and will again play a full Davis Cup schedule for Australia in 2004...The last four years have seen four different Davis Cup champions, dating after Australia in 1999...The ATP is considering new rules affecting everyone with a tournament accreditation to stem the tide of Internet gambling, especially targeting journalists: "There is a sleazy outside element we are not in control of," said David Higdon, the ATP's vice president of communications...2002 Australian Open winner Thomas Johansson, who missed all of 2003 with a knee injury, will be back in January 2004: "I'll be starting from zero...With the exception of the eight tournaments that I'll be able to enter with a protected ranking (No. 23), I'll have to hope for a wildcard (into the main draw) or a wildcard for the qualifying rounds...Of course there have been days when I've wondered what I'm doing -- Should I retire? Do I have the strength to invest all the time needed to get back? -- but at the same time I think I've stayed pretty positive. They set an approximate date for when I was supposed to be back and the talk went that it would be in time for the Swedish Open (in July) but that turned out to be nowhere near. That's when you get a little depressed, when specialists have said 'another two months and it will be okay'...I'm fully aware it's going to be really tough to get back. It's not about just walking in and winning matches. One of my big goals is to win another tournament. Whether that will be a challenger or an ATP tournament, we'll see."...On the exo circuit, Ashley Harkleroad and Maria "Grunt-o-licious" Sharapova will play in the Future Legends Match, and world No. 1 Andy Roddick and James Blake will play in the feature match this week in Baltimore...Ashley Harkleroad, who used to date Andy Roddick, is dating another player in Alex Bogomolov, Jr.: "Alex is officially my boyfriend," Harkleroad told the Baltimore Sun. "He might come to Baltimore with me (for the exhibition). We'll see how our schedules work." That is officially scary, Ashley taking a page out of Paradorn Srichaphan's old girlfriend's book, making the media announcement...To make the Brits happy while in London for the year-end senior tour event, Boris Becker said Tim Henman will win a slam before he retires: "He has two or three years to win a Grand Slam. People in Britain should appreciate that because there is not much young talent coming up behind him."...Aussie doubles standout Wayne Arthurs is petitioning for an Australian Open singles wildcard...Mandy Moore has been showing up in some odd places lately, according to the Village Voice: "Mandy Moore not only graced the cover of Elle Girl with pal Kelly Osbourne a few months ago; she was even spotted on the family's MTV show hanging out with brother Jack (in his room!!). "I'd love to have somebody in mind when I sing," Moore once said; no sign that it was ever Jack -- tennis star Andy Roddick has been squiring Moore for months. Her association with the fucking Prince of Darkness (X-note: the VV referring to Jack, not Andy), though, signaled one teen star who goes her own modest (often midriff-hidden) way." The Voice gave Moore's latest album, Coverage, a lukewarm response: "Still, the CD's the best thing Mandy's done since going back to brunette." Not bad after being crushed by Rolling Stone magazine...Tim Henman has hired Paul Annacone as his part-time coach, the Brit said on his website. Henman has been without a coach since splitting with Larry Stefanki after the US Open: "Paul and I have been friends for a long time and we got to know each other pretty well when he used to work with Pete (Sampras). I obviously have a lot of respect for him for what they both achieved together."...John McEnroe addressed the Lawn Tennis Writers Association Awards Dinner and Dance in Wimbledon's Debenture Holders Lounge Wednesday night, touching on subjects such as his belief that Tim Henman can win Wimbledon, to the wearing of sleeveless shirts at the All England Club, and his thoughts on Tony Blair's 'relationship' with George W. Bush. After-dinner speaking is a career that McEnroe says he plans to look into further in future years. "It was an interesting experience," McEnroe said. "I went into it as if I was playing a match -- it's definitely something I'd like to think about pursuing on a more regular basis because it's very challenging, and I like difficult challenges. You have to light a fire and take some chances, it's like tennis -- it doesn't all work. If I would grade myself I think I'd give myself a 'B' -- it could have been better, but it could have been a lot worse. I feel like I can be good at it, potentially."......The Feb. 6-8 Davis Cup World Group tie between France and Croatia will be staged in Metz in eastern France...The AP has reported that Kim Clijsters would have been allowed to play the Olympics next year in her Fila wear but has still declined. The world No. 2 couldn't have orchestrated a better bad PR campaign if she tried, with now all of Belgium turning against her: "With Kim Clijsters we had a major potential for a medal," said Olympic Committee Secretary General Guido De Bondt on VRT radio on Tuesday. "We could even have dreamt of two," he said, noting that Clijsters is ranked world No. 1 in doubles play. "This is a serious blow."...Mardy Fish will replace the injured Mark Philippoussis in the Minnesota Tennis Challenge on Dec.12 at Xcel Energy Center. Fish will face fellow Minnesotan David Wheaton, and John McEnroe will play James Blake.