November brings the traditional late-season events--the ATP and WTA individual
championships, which bring together the top-achieving players of the year to
date, along with the finals of Davis and Fed Cups. Winning one of the
individual championships is somewhat less prestigious than winning a Slam,
but the rewards are excellent both financially and in points toward the
full-year races now concluding.
LOS ANGELES
The season-ending event in women's tennis goes back to 1972, when Chris Evert
as an amateur won the Virginia Slims Championships in Boca Raton. Doubles was
added the next year. The event under various names moved to other locations
but starting in 1979 remained many years in New York, most recently as the
Chase Championships. Its best performer over the years has been Martina
Navratilova, probably reflecting the effectiveness indoors of her
net-attacking tactics. Martina won the singles eight times, the doubles
eleven times. Last year, the event moved to Munich as the Sanex WTA
Championships. Serena Williams won the singles, Raymond-Stubbs the doubles.
This year, November 4-11, the top 16 singles players and the top eight
doubles pairs in the points races to date will qualify to compete at the
Staples Center, Los Angeles. The prize money is excellent--$3 million. The
event will be called the Home Depot Championships Presented by Porsche.
Injuries will of course affect matters. Last year when Serena won the event,
both Hingis and Venus Williams were absent. Lindsay Davenport had to withdraw
after reaching the final, though her point total remained the year's highest.
This year Hingis and Mauresmo are not entering because of injuries, while
feelings of uncertainty remain about Seles and Serena, who have withdrawn
from events in recent weeks, and about Venus, who has played only one match
since U.S. Open. Davenport, who returned to the wars at mid-summer after
surgery, should be present.
Results in recent weeks have broken the long pattern of invulnerability among
the game's superstars. Magdalena Maleeva defeated Venus, Mauresmo, and
Davenport in Moscow, and Patty Schnyder defeated Hantuchova and Davenport in
Zurich. Also during October Alexandra Stevenson upset Capriati (twice),
Hantuchova, and Dokic, while Casanova upset Henin.
Serena Williams will be the strong favorite in L.A. if she competes, followed
by Venus and young superstars Henin and Clijsters, both of whom won indoor
events in late October. Davenport has been improving in her comeback though
she has not won a tournament, while Capriati, Hantuchova, and Dokic have
shown poor results lately. Capable of beating one or, conceivably, two
superstars are Maleeva, Schnyder, Rubin, Dementieva, and Stevenson.
(Stevenson is the first alternate to play in case of further withdrawals.)
But none of these stars seem ready to defeat three or four of the top group
consecutively, as would be necessary to win the event. Of early interest will
be where Davenport falls in the draw, as she lacks the points for high
seeding.
Regardless of outcome in Los Angeles, first place in the year's points race
is already settled. Serena, who won three Slams this year, is too far ahead
to be superseded. Meanwhile Raymond-Stubbs remain the top doubles pair in my
opinion, though their present ranking is behind the pair of Ruano-Pascual and
Stubbs, who won Garros and U.S. Open this year. The Williams sisters, who
won the 2002 Wimbledon doubles, have not competed enough to qualify for L.A.
MEN'S DOUBLES
The men's doubles race this year has been, unexpectedly, a one-sided success
for a veteran North American pair. Canadian Daniel Nestor is regarded among
the very top doubles warriors, with superb serving and left-court returning
skills. This year he partnered with Mark Knowles of the Bahamas, thereby
reuniting the 1998 Garros and U.S. Open champions. Knowles-Nestor won
Australian Open 2002 and were runners-up at Garros and Wimbledon. They are
far ahead in the year's points race to date.
The season-ending championships were originally scheduled to be played on the
week of November 4, at Bangalore, India. But as of today, October 31, the
scheduling and location remained up in the air. Sadly, it seems possible that
the year's final event will not be played. The possibility of playing some
doubles amid the singles championship has been heard.
There has been talk of cutting down the role of doubles on the tour. ATP
recently announced changes for 2003, reducing the percentage of prize money
for doubles and reducing the doubles draws in certain tournaments. Also the
entry system will be slightly revised to encourage more singles players to
play doubles. Not to be expanded, one hopes, is the limited experiment using
ten-point tiebreak games in lieu of third sets.
SHANGHAI--MASTERS CUP
Throughout the 1990's, the season-ending ATP World event in singles was held
annually in Germany. It moved to Lisbon in 2000 with a new name, Masters Cup,
and to Sydney in 2001. The change in name accompanied a merger with Grand
Slam Cup, which had been played annually during the 1990's, also in Germany.
This year's Masters Cup will be played during the week of November 11,
indoors in Shanghai. Following the event's customary pattern, eight singles
stars will compete in round-robin play in two groups. Four survivors will
earn places in the semi-finals.
Two players remain in contention to win the overall points crown for the
year. Either Andre Agassi or last year's winner Lleyton Hewitt will be the #1
player for 2002. Who wins will depend on their performances at the Paris
Indoors, now in progress, and in Shanghai. Agassi and Hewitt are also the
main favorites to win at Shanghai. Of the year's four Slams and eight Masters
Series tournaments to date, only these players have won more than one.
(Hewitt won Wimbledon and Indian Wells, and Agassi won Key Biscayne, Italian
Open, and Madrid Indoors.) Both have reached the quarters in Paris.
With Hewitt and Agassi in Shanghai will be French Open champion Albert Costa.
Also qualifying are Europeans Safin, Ferrero, and Federer. Two of the
following three--Novak, Moya, and Roddick--will also qualify, depending on
what happens in the late rounds in Paris. Though it is not yet announced, by
my reckoning Tim Henman has narrowly missed out. U.S. Open champion Sampras
and Australian champion Johansson will not qualify.
The plan for next year is that the season-ending singles and doubles will
both be played outdoors in Houston, home base of Tennis Server.
DAVIS AND FED CUPS
Fed Cup final week is now in progress in the Canaries, originally involving
four nations. The preliminary favorites were the Slovak Republic team, with
Hantuchova and Husarova. Spain offered veteran Fed Cup warriors Martinez and
Sanchez-Vicario. Both advanced in the first two days by defeating semi-final
opponents--Spain over Austria in a wonderfully close meeting, Slovakia over
Italy with Husarova winning both her singles. Spain has a fine history of
success in Fed Cup, but in my opinion the Slovak team is stronger. Various
misfortunes have plagued Fed Cup in recent years, so that a trouble-free
conclusion this year is needed for the good of the competition.
Davis Cup final round will commence November 29 on indoor clay in Paris. The
Russian team brings Kafelnikov and Safin, both of whom have been
disappointing this fall. Favored will be the French, whose depth allows
choosing the best player of the moment from among Grosjean, Mathieu, Santoro,
and Clement, while several excellent doubles combinations should be available
from these players as well as Llodra and Pioline. A Russian triumph would be
surprising.
A total of 117 nations participated in Davis Cup competition this year. From
zonal-group play, Belgium and Romania advanced to membership in next year's
16-nation World Group. Last year, a French star--Nicolas Escude--won our
Player of the Year award for his Cup heroics. The French road in cup play
this year has again been tortuous. Might this year's award honor an
achievement similar to Escude's?
Pro tennis remains a force for good will amid a time of world uncertainty and
fear. Davis and Fed Cups should be centerpieces of the sport, as Davis Cup
was in times past. Players, promoters, and fans should heed their
responsibilities to the game's history and sporting ethic. In Cup play, as at
all levels of our game, the competing is more important than the winning.
--Ray Bowers
