THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606300238
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: 63 lines
That pop Boris Becker heard coming from his right wrist might as well have been the sound of the Wimbledon balloon bursting.
Now that Becker has joined Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Michael Chang, Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg on the sidelines, the air has gone out of tennis' premier event.
What's a Wimbo watcher to do?
This week, NBC will begin daily coverage of the tournament, but is it really worth the risk of ducking out of work to watch Todd Martin play Thomas Johansson?
And what about the women? Now that we can't have a final between Steffi Graf and Seles, maybe NBC should just put on a rerun of a vintage Chris Evert-Martina Navratilova match.
If you've been paying attention to Wimbledon at all, you know that, with a week still to go, the marquee attractions have evaporated faster than a Greg Norman lead on the final day of a major championship.
Now that I've gone and mixed sports, if not metaphors, it's worth mentioning that golf always has had a more loyal following than tennis in the United States.
For sure, there has been a major golf boom in the last few years. Men and women have taken to golf like plaid to polyester.
But, in general, golf fans have always been more easily entertained by their sport than tennis people are by theirs. Somehow, golf can get away with presenting a U.S. Open final round that came down to a contest between journeymen Steve Jones and Tom Lehman.
There is not enough charisma between these two pros to illuminate a 40-watt light bulb. But golf people don't seem to care. You don't hear the USGA apologizing. You don't read about how boring golf is to watch.
Tennis is treated differently than its country-club cousin. Let even traditional Wimbledon serve up a final between the tennis equivalents of Jones and Lehman and tennis would never hear the end of it. You could attract better ratings showing John McEnroe shaving off his silly goatee.
The times tennis has gone over big with the home audience, it was because of the presence of big names. While golf remains comfortable with its country-club roots, tennis has become a rock 'n roll sport.
This is why Agassi is so important to the game. And why Pete Sampras must reach the finals and go for his fourth consecutive crown if America is expected to get out of bed for breakfast at Wimbledon.
When Becker's tendon tore, it opened up the bottom half of the draw for the likes of Martin, MaliVai Washington, Paul Haarhuis, Alexander Radulescu and Magnus Gustafsson. One of these players is likely to reach the final, a feat that will thrill their parents and nobody else.
Maybe, then, while he's still around, it's time to root for Tim Henman. The 21-year-old baby-faced Brit looks like he should be shagging balls instead of hitting them, but his surprising success has energized the home crowd and added a touch of spice to a bland English stew.
It's the longest of shots, but the best thing for Wimbledon now would be a Sampras-Henman final. Pete would kill him, of course, but the novelty value of a Brit playing on the last day of the English championships would be worth something, even in America.
Imagine Henman losing to Sampras next Sunday. Would a riot break out in London, as it did after England's Euro 96 soccer loss to Germany?
Wouldn't that be something, tumult in Trafalgar Square over a match at stuffy Wimbledon.
Any way you look at it, tennis could use the publicity. by CNB