Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120105
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Remember that Sports Illustrated cover? The one with a fuzzy, yellow tennis ball and a giant question mark over it. ``Is tennis dying?'' the magazine asked.
Well, the answer is no.
Not anymore.
Not when you have Steffi Graf beating Monica Seles 96 points to 95 in the U.S. Open final. Not when you have Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras delighting fans with 22-volley games and 125 mph. aces. Not when you have Agassi and Boris Becker going into tiebreaks. Not when you have Luke and Murphy Jensen showing up in black football jerseys.
And certainly not when you have Nike in your court.
Nike means MTV-style commercials.
Nike means funky T-shirts, denim shorts and bandanas.
Nike means Monica on the sidelines of the Cowboys-Giants Monday night game.
Nike means youth and energy, and that is exactly what tennis needed to survive in the 1990s' slam-dunk-Shaq-Deion world of sports.
Nice volleys just weren't enough.
The sport needed some sizzle, and it got some.
Tennis is so hot these days that the hippest of the hip were in the stands over the weekend for the U.S. Open finals. Magazine publisher John F. Kennedy Jr. was there.
The game still isn't as hip as the Jensen brothers would like.
``If it were, we'd have lights, lasers and blimps flying in, and helicopters and the whole thing,'' said Luke, the longer-haired of the doubles team from Ludington, Mich.
But it's on the right track.
``At least we're not playing at Forest Hills anymore,'' Jensen said, referring to the U.S. Open's stuffy former home.
Tennis purists might not like this notion. They probably liked it better when everyone wore white, and only women wore earrings. They probably wouldn't mind seeing a guy such as Stefan Edberg win year after year, and seeing guys such as the Jensens tossed off the court.
But there aren't enough of those fans around to keep the sport afloat.
Sports fans and advertisers today want personalities and rivalries.
Pete Sampras' serve is boring without Andre Agassi's return.
Steffi Graf's stoicism is boring without Monica Seles' giggle.
But put them all together on Stadium Court over two days, and watch tennis come to life.
Watch fans on the edge of their seats. Watch stories appear on Page 1. Watch sponsors sign up. Watch kids in all sorts of neighborhoods beg their parents for rackets.
Tennis opened its eyes last weekend after several years in a coma.
It breathed, and walked, and shouted at the top of its lungs:
``I'm baaaaack!''
Only time will tell if it's back for good.
And, finally, no tournament is complete without some awards.
Rookie of the year: Mark (Scud) Philippoussis. The 18-year-old Australian with the killer serve won a set off Sampras, and pushed the eventual champion to four sets.
Best match: Becker-Patrick McEnroe, quarterfinals. Four hours and seven minutes! Three tiebreaks! Becker survived, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (8-6), but the 42nd-ranked McEnroe bore a striking resemblance to his older brother on several points. It's too bad someone had to lose.
Best-dressed: (Tie) Gabriela Sabatini and Sampras. Any woman who looks great in a baseball cap gets our vote. Sampras has combined the classic white shirt with denim-like shorts for a modern yet sophisticated look.
Worst-dressed: Agassi, hands down. Black socks on the tennis court?
by CNB