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For Andre Agassi, Truth Is Everything

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:45:00 EST

Filed under: Tennis

So what do people want from their heroes, anyway: after-the-fact transparency or the perpetuation of fraud? Here we are, still wading through the slime of the Steroids Era, rightfully crucifying juicers for trying to hide behind walls of deceit. And yet, some of the same critics are pummeling Andre Agassi for volunteering 12 years after his sin -- when it would have been far more convenient to keep living the lie -- that he failed a drug test and deceived the ATP by writing a letter claiming he "unwittingly'' used crystal meth.

The admission, in an autobiography called Open,' is crippling to Agassi's reputation as one of sport's good guys. By outing himself, he hurts his family, his numerous charitable causes, his credibility and the image we have of his complete body of work, not good when one of his defining ad campaigns once had him declaring, "Image is everything.'' Knowing the damage that was forthcoming, he came clean nonetheless about his recreational drug problem, unlike the high-profile baseball stars whose performance-enhancing crimes have been revealed in investigations and exposés.

Harsh as the truth is in this case, though, I'd rather be aware of it than be forever bamboozled. Assuming Agassi can live with the fallout, which appears substantial and already includes a plea by the World Anti-Doping Agency for tennis to investigate him for perjury, then we should appreciate his candor -- if not his manipulative ways in cheating the system in 1997, when he was depressed and dropped to 141st in the world before his redemptive rise to legendhood.

"I had way more to lose by telling this story in its full transparency than I had to gain," Agassi told CBS' Katie Couric in a 60 Minutes' interview Sunday night. "The part that I worry and think more about is who this may help.

"It's what you don't want to hear [from him], but I would hope along with that would come some compassion that maybe this person doesn't need condemnation. Maybe this person could stand a little help. Because that was at a time in my life when I needed help. I had a problem, and there might be many other athletes out there that test positive for recreational drugs that have a problem. So I would ask for some compassion."
To this day, Andre Agassi is among the most compelling, thoughtful, electrifying and mesmerizing athletes of our time ... He had plenty to hide, yet he chose to reveal it. It's called full disclosure.

I am not nominating Agassi for sainthood. Actually, I'm disturbed he would allow his crystal meth use to grow so out of control that he'd contrive a cover-up, claiming he accidentally drank a soft drink spiked with meth by his assistant, "Slim.'' As I once wrote of Michael Jordan, who used to gamble with a North Carolina buddy named Slim Bouler, never trust anyone named Slim. This makes me wonder just how much of the Agassi experience, enjoyed and revered by legions of tennis fans, was fueled by being high. Can I believe he only used meth for a year when he speaks of it in such glowing terms? "[It brings] a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head.

"I've never felt so alive, so hopeful -- and I've never felt such energy,'' he writes in the book, noting how the drug propelled him into frenzied house-cleaning sessions. Wasn't the appeal of Agassi rooted in his energy, his never-say-die hope?

At worst, he sat down and wrote a letter of blatant falsehoods that manipulated the system and allowed him to avoid a suspension. In the context of what he accomplished from 1998 to his 2006 retirement -- five of his eight Grand Slam titles, including the career Slam; the bulk of his $31 million in career prize money; his marriage to Steffi Graf, with whom he has two kids; an extraordinary embrace of charity work -- it would be easy to bury his past as a footnote. Don't make the mistake of doing that. His drug issues are now part of the entire Agassi story, redemptive and troubling all at once. Before this, he was one of the most beloved athletes in sports, a man who elicited unprecedented levels of adoration at the U.S. Open. Clearly, he has thrown a knuckleball into the love affair that shocked even his most passionate fans.

But I do believe him when he says he wants to help people. The knee-jerk reaction that he's trying to sell books after receiving a $5 million advance -- please, stop it, because Agassi doesn't need the money. Of all people to accuse him of hustling a book, imagine Dick Vitale ripping him on a Twitter post. "Isn't it sad that celebs like Agassi and Hulk Hogan will write anything to sell books. How pathetic!'' wrote Dickie V, who has been accused of the same thing. In truth, Agassi always has opened his heart to the world, and as he reflects on his career, he felt that heart had some explaining to do.

It's called cleansing the soul, which beats hiding the truth every time. "Apart from the buzz of getting high," he wrote, "I get an undeniable satisfaction from harming myself and shortening my career. But the physical aftermath is hideous. After two days of being high, of not sleeping, I'm an alien. I have the audacity to wonder why I feel so rotten. I'm an athlete, my body should be able to handle this.''

When a sports celebrity writes a book, it's too often filled with self-serving pap intended to enhance an image. Agassi's book brought him down, something I've rarely seen in sports publishing. He wants us to feel compassion for his previous troubles, which seems a fair request. Substance abuse is not cheating in the same vein as steroids use. Early in his career, he was a young man finding his way through depression and stardom. His story sounds familiar to that of Jennifer Capriati, who rose to prominence in his early teens before turning to drugs. During her rousing comeback, we cheered for her. Didn't Agassi follow a similar career path? I suppose we could criticize him for not coming out earlier, when he was still active as a player and wasn't selling a book. But that's what memoirs are -- telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. "If you're going to tell your story, you owe it to yourself to tell it honestly," Agassi said.

"Especially if you're going to call it 'Open.' ''

As indicting as anything he wrote about himself was the way he hung out the ATP. Why did an anti-doping tribunal believe his concocted story so readily? Shouldn't his letter immediately have raised eyebrows and prompted a full-blown investigation of Agassi and this Slim character? Since then, drug testing in tennis is handled and administered by an independent firm. But at the time, tennis had its share of recreational drug use, and we're left to wonder how many others were exonerated without even a blink.

He leaves little to the imagination about his punk days, when he wore denim shorts, earrings and long stringy hair. Proving he's comfortable in his skin, Agassi reveals that his mullet actually was a wig -- and that he needed bobby pins to make sure the weave didn't fall off during play at the 1990 French Open. "Of course I could play without my hairpiece. But after months of derision, criticism, mockery, I'm too self-conscious," he writes in the book.

"Image Is Everything? What would they say if they knew? Win or lose, they wouldn't talk about my game. They'd only talk about my hair. I can close my eyes and almost hear it. And I know I can't take it."

He also doesn't hesitate to tell stories about the women in his life. When he and Brooke Shields were preparing for their wedding, the supermodel hung a picture of Graf on their refrigerator as inspiration to get in better shape. "It's a photo of the perfect woman, she says," writes Agassi. "The perfect woman with the perfect legs -- the legs Brooke wants." Who knew, after his divorce from Shields, that he would marry Graf, one of the greatest women players ever?

To this day, Andre Agassi is among the most compelling, thoughtful, electrifying and mesmerizing athletes of our time. He always has dripped sweat and blood all over the tennis court, and now, he's doing it on the pages of an autobiography. He had plenty to hide, yet he chose to reveal it. It's called full disclosure.

I would have expected nothing less from him.

For Andre Agassi, Truth Is Everything originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fans Win When Federer and Tiger Lose

Jay Mariotti — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:35:00 EST

Filed under: Golf, Tennis

He was shrinking into someone else, wilting and cracking and melting down. Try as he did, he couldn't generate sufficient torque and let his first serve turn wilder than a podunk mayor throwing out a first pitch. He lost tiebreakers, which rarely happens, and he committed 15 unforced errors in the fifth set to merely four for a 20-year-old foe in his maiden Grand Slam final experience. Worse still, Roger Federer did something unbefitting a dignified, placid champion who speaks elegantly, wears stylish sweaters and counts Vogue editor Anna Wintour among his friends.

A gentleman lost his famed equlibrium, crashing for the shocked masses to see after Juan Martin del Potro challenged a shot via the electronic line-calling system -- which, by the way, Federer loathes. "No, no, no. I wasn't allowed to challenge after two seconds. The guy takes, like, 10. Every time. You can't allow that stuff to happen. Do you have any rules in there, or what?" he barked at chair unpire Jake Garner. When he was basically told to shut up, Federer responed with the latest obscenity in an expletive-filled tournament that should have been called the U.S. Bleeping Open.

"Stop showing me your hand, OK? Stop telling me to be quiet, OK?" he said. "When I want to talk, I talk. I don't give a s--- what you said. I say he's waiting too long."

Was this an alien? Was the real Federer abducted? Two points from his 16th Slam title, the one that would have solidified his place as the greatest tennis player ever, he collapsed Monday in an all-time tennis shocker. His invincibility at Flushing Meadows was toppled by del Potro, a 6-foot-6 force with a killer serve who crushed 38 forehands for winners. That quickly, a familiar argument was reborn: Can Federer truly be considered the best ever when he has struggled so often against Rafael Nadal and was ousted in his event, on his court, by del Potro? Doesn't he have to prove more in the next couple of years, when del Potro and Nadal will be dogging him along with Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and who knows who else?

Yes, he does.

And isn't it great to know?

Count me among those who'd prefer to watch Federer and Tiger Woods, partners in TV commercials and individual-sport pre-eminence, struggle in major events periodically rather than dominate them. Poised as we were to see Federer claim his third Slam of the year, his stunning takedown by del Potro was much better theater and adds more drama to a long-dormant sport that grabbed our attention -- for good reasons and bad -- the last two weeks. Suddenly, everywhere he looks, Federer has rivals who can conquer him at any time on any surface.

"I thought he hung in there and gave himself chances, and in the end was the better man," he said. "It's one of those finals, maybe I'll look back and have some regret. In the end, he was just too tough. That's the way it was. His effort was fantastic."

Sure beats watching Federer win his sixth consecutive U.S. Open title and 41st straight match in New York, a streak that began 2,200 days earlier in September 2003. And the result did succeed in revealing a surly, whiny side of Federer that is important to file away when discussing pantheons in sports. Nothing compares, of course, to the pathetic sportsmanship, rude behavior and threatening language of Serena Williams toward a line judge after her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters. But Federer did seem disingenuous when he said this defeat will be simpler to swallow because he got married this year, became the father of twin girls and won two Slam titles at Wimbledon and the French Open.

Ever hear Michael Jordan talk that way after a major loss? Or Woods? Or any of the greats? The most competitive champions never justify losing.

"I think this is easy to get over just because I've had the most amazing summer," Federer said. "I tried everything, you know. It didn't work. It's acceptable. Life goes on. No problem ... Being in all major finals and winning two of those and losing the other two in five sets -- sure, I would have loved to win those two as well. Being so close, that's the way it goes sometimes. But the year has been amazing already and it's not over yet. Got married and had kids. Don't know how much more I want."

He doesn't know how much more he wants? Like that, the fire is out? That's a complete turnaround from the scene in February, when he broke down in tears after Nadal beat him at the Australian Open and said while sobbing, "God, it's killing me.'' Yes, Federer was able to break Pete Sampras' men's record for most career Slams. But it wasn't long ago when he was a slave to Nadal, who may have continued to carve up Federer if not for the injuries -- abdominal for the short term, knees for the long term -- that threaten to sabotage his body of work.

Which is why it's vital to have a new rival and conversation piece in del Potro, who was last seen collpasing on the court and weeping after his 4-hour, 6-minute conquest. He hails from the small mountain town of Tandil, Argentina, a nation known for producing clay-court champs but not prodigies who bring down hard-court legends. Who didn't smile as he lay sprawled on the court, spread eagle, with his hands over his face? Who cared if it was on American soil? He was that warm and respectful after his first significant triumph in a career that should have many.

"When I would have a dream, it was to win the U.S. Open. The other one is to be like Roger," del Potro said.

"One is done."

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U.S. Open 2009

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: Juan Martin Del Potro the 2009 US Open Tennis Champion poses with the US Open trophy on a viewing deck at the Empire State Building on September 15, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for ATP Tour) *** Local Caption *** Juan Martin Del Potro

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2009 U.S. Open tennis champion Juan Martin Del Potro visits The Empire State Building on September 15, 2009 in New York City. Juan Martin Del Potro Visits The Empire State Building After His 2009 US Open Victory The Empire State Building New York, NY United States September 15, 2009 Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage.com To license this image (58364537), contact WireImage.com

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In this image released by ABC, tennis pro Serena Williams, right, speaks with host Chris Cuomo on the morning news program, "Good Morning America," on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009. Williams apologized Monday for what she called her "inappropriate outburst" during her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open. (AP Photo/ABC, Ida Mae Astute )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: Juan Martin Del Potro (C) the 2009 US Open Tennis Champion, meets with CBS anchors Jeff Glor and Maggie Rodriguez (R) on The Early Show on September 15, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for ATP Tour) *** Local Caption *** Maggie Rodriguez;Jeff Glor;Juan Martin Del Potro

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: Juan Martin Del Potro (R) the 2009 US Open Tennis Champion meets with anchors (L-R) Al Roker, Jenna Wolfe and Matt Lauer on NBC's "The Today Show" on September 15, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for ATP Tour) *** Local Caption *** Matt Lauer;Jenna Wolfe;Al Roker;Juan Martin Del Potro

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Can he be the next Federer? Or, maybe the better question is whether he's about to overtake Federer. Certainly, del Potro has a power game that's fueled by his signature shot, the punishing forehand, along with a monster serve and effective two-handed backhand. He eventually wore down Federer, who looked surprisingly soft and increasingly sluggish. Best of all, he's a humble young man who is close to his family, asking during the victory ceremony if he could say some words in Spanish. Initially, CBS' Dick Enberg said there wouldn't be time, but the network wisely changed course. Later, he called his parents in Argentina, having told them not to come to New York for the men's final. Together, they cried over the phone.

"It was difficult to speak, but they are so happy for me,'' del Potro told reporters Tuesday, before he flew to his homeland and launched a party with 150-some relatives. "It's amazing for me. This will be in my mind forever in my life. I don't have words for it. You know, since I (was) young, I dream of this and take trophy with me. I did my dream, and it's (an) unbelievable moment. It's amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect.''

This is new territory for him, including a first-prize check for $1.8 million. How will he spend it? "Maybe cheesecake for my birthday," he said.

It's refreshing to have him around. Not that we're tired of Federer, but it seems he's a bit weary of the scene after an astonishing 22 Grand Slam finals. "Six would have been a dream, but you can't have them all," he said of his U.S. Open streak. "I would never have thought five or six years ago, I would win 40 matches in a row here. I've had a wonderful year and I'm still No. 1.''

Woods likely will be able to make the same claim, even in a year when he didn't win a major and remains stuck on 14, four short of Jack Nicklaus' career record. Savvy observers will give him a break on that because he's only 15 months removed from reconstructive knee surgery, making his six victories this season a remarkable feat. Yet some will say his big-moment failures -- losing a duel to unheralded Y.E. Yang at the PGA Championship, bogeying the last two holes and falling out of contention at the Masters, missing the cut at the British Open -- overwhelm the fact that he now has 71 career wins, only two shy of Nicklaus on the career list.

In my mind, Yang is del Potro. He stared down Woods on a Sunday in Minnesota and beat him, which created much more intrigue than a routine Tiger victory. Is Woods' aura of invincibility gone in majors? You don't dare suggest that after last weekend in suburban Chicago, where he plundered the field at the BMW Championship. But the fact he didn't win a major -- when Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Yang did -- is good for golf. It's nice to know Woods can have bad putting days on red-shirt Sundays like the rest of us.

"To play as well as I have of late and not get the Ws has been a little bit frustrating, no doubt, because I've been so close," he said. "It's just been a matter of making a couple of putts here and there, and I would have won the tournaments. It's as simple as that.''

The fact he didn't win keeps us more interested. And the fact Federer didn't win Monday keeps us more interested. In the end, unpredictability trumps inevitability every time.

Fans Win When Federer and Tiger Lose originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena's Legacy Marred Beyond Repair

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:53:00 EST

Filed under: Tennis

Turns out the angel has fangs. Can we ever look at her the same way again? With one malicious, threatening, swaggering, finger-pointing, racket-waving, f-bombing tantrum, Serena Williams took a sword to her legacy and did irretrievable damage. Just when we were starting to project her place in history -- her 11 Grand Slam singles titles, the perseverance of the Williams sisters as they became black champions in a largely white sport -- Serena deflected our eyes from her prominence to her startling petulance.

Such vitriol is going around, of course. Whether it's Kanye West dissing poor Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Awards or Joe Wilson shouting "You Lie!" at Barack Obama on the floor of the House of Representives, America is filled with angry bursts as the first decade of the 21st century ends. But Williams was supposed to be beyond such ill behavior, a credit to her sport and race and country. And when she took a stab at a mea culpa Monday, issuing a third apology after two cheap attempts, even that came across as too little, too late.

Blackistone: Outburst Reflects Society | Couch: McEnroe's Defense Troubling

"I'd like to give her a big ole hug and say, 'Let's just put it all behind us like I have and just move on from it,' "Williams said of the linesperson, a Japanese woman whose name has not been released by the U.S. Tennis Association.

Here's a better idea: Tell her yourself, Serena.

Tennis is not baseball. It's a dignified game that allows officials to be questioned but never exposed to hostile words, not that any referee in any sport ever should be. John McEnroe suffered a permanent smudge on his legacy because he acted like a boor on the court, but even he never said he'd like to "kill" a linesman. That is what several witnesses are claiming Williams told the linesperson who, in a women's semifinal at the U.S. Open, dared to call Serena for a foot fault in what would be her fatal final game against eventual champion Kim Clijsters.

Like LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, Williams wanted a superstar call. Unlike LeBron or Kobe, she threatened violence when she didn't get it.

"I swear to God, I'm (expletive) going to take this (expletive) ball and shove it down your (expletive) throat, you hear that? I swear to God," said Williams to the woman, who reportedly is not doing well and almost fainted after the episode. It's difficult to determine on the TV replay if she used he word "kill," but officials and fans within earshot at Arthur Ashe Stadium said she indeed did. What followed was a hideous scene. The linesperson, visibly disturbed, ran across the court when Williams turned her back and reported the incident to the chair umpire. She returned to her seat, only to hurry back to the chair umpire when Williams pointed and approached her menacingly. As all parties stood at midcourt, Williams continued to talk down to the woman.

"Are you scared? Because I said I would hit you? I'm sorry, but there's a lot of people who've said way worse," Williams said.

The tournament referee, Brian Earley, asked the linesperson what was said. Her response baffled Williams. "I didn't say I would kill you. Are you serious? Are you serious?" she said. "I didn't say that."

"Yes," the linesperson said.

"Yes, you did," came a voice from the stands.

Rarely have we seen a premier athlete crash and burn so quickly, so shockingly. That her tirade came as she was about to lose the match to Clijsters was more disgraceful; it revealed her as a poor sport and big baby who needed to blame her failure on a line judge when, in truth, Clijsters outplayed Williams in her first major tournament since suffering a wrist injury and then taking a two-year hiatus to have a baby. Serena often has spoken of her responsibility as a role model, and, in this case, the role model should have kept her cool and let the winner have her moment in what is a special human-interest tale. Not since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980 has a woman won a tennis major after giving birth. This should have been all about Kim Clijsters.

"It still seems so surreal," said the plesant Belgian champion. "In my third tournament back, I won my second Grand Slam. It wasn't the plan. I just wanted to come here and get a feel for it all over again, to play a Grand Slam so I could start next year without having all new experiences. It means the world, and I'm just so glad that I'm able to share it with my husband who wasn't here a few years ago, and with my whole group who is here. And also sharing it with our daughter, of course, is the greatest thing ever. Having a family and being an athlete, I think it's possible. ... To win a Grand Slam (as a mother) is obviously a big deal in women's tennis, and the history of women's tennis."

Instead, Williams made it all about her perceived injustice and bruised ego. And rather than apologize immediately after the match Saturday night, she dragged out that process for three days and robbed Clijsters of more attention. Her first comments on the incident showed no remorse. "I didn't threaten," she said. "I don't remember anymore, to be honest. I was in the moment ... I'm trying to move on. I wasn't called for a foot fault all year until I got to New York."

When asked if she regretted her temper spillage, she initially said no. "I try not to live my life saying, `I wish, I wish,' " Williams said. "I was out there and I fought and I tried to do my best."

When told the woman felt threatened, she initially became flip. "She says she felt threatened? She said this to you?" Williams said. "I've never been in a fight my whole life, so I don't know why she felt threatened."

Then, when she tried to apologize, she centered on "the passion I have for my job" and made no mention of Clijsters. Not until her public-relations people coached her did she finally say the right things Monday, making the apology seem hollow at best and disingenuous at worst. "I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lineswoman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA and mostly to tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst," Williams said in a statement. "I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit it when I'm wrong. I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it's not the way to act -- win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner."

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U.S. Open 2009

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina holds the championship trophy as Roger Federer of Switzerland looks on in the Men's Singles final on day fifteen of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 14, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Del Potro defeated Federer 3-6, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Juan Martin Del Potro;Roger Federer

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U.S. Open Photos

Roger Federer, of Switzerland, sits in his court side chair while waiting for trophy presentations after his defeat by Juan Martin del Potro, of Argentina, in the men's finals championship at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Juan Martin del Potro, of Argentina, kisses the championship trophy after winning the men's finals championship over Roger Federer, of Switzerland, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Juan Martin del Potro, of Argentina, reacts after winning the men's finals championship over Roger Federer, of Switzerland, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina holds his trophy after beating Roger Federer from Switzerland during the final of the 2009 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York, September 14, 2009. Del Potro won 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

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Tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina kisses his trophy after beating Roger Federer from Switzerland during the final of the 2009 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York, September 14, 2009. Del Potro won 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

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Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina kisses his trophy after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Men's Final US Open match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center September 14, 2009 in New York. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

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Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina hold his trophy after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Men's Final US Open match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center September 14, 2009 in New York. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

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Later, after winning the Open doubles title with Venus, she addressed the situation at a press conference. "I just really wanted to apologize sincerely, because I'm a very prideful person and I'm a very intense person and a very emotional person," Serena said. "I wanted to offer my sincere apologies to anyone that I may have offended. I think the whole point of learning from your mistakes is not to do the same thing. I definitely would, I think, have a more professional way of voicing my opinion ... I want to get another bad line call so I can get some more practice and see how I do. That would be awesome. OK, this is my one moment here. Yeah, so I probably would even smile."

But did she mean any of it? The evening before, at the same MTV event where West insulted Swift because he thought Beyonce deserved an award, Williams took a wry shot at the commotion over her foot fault and fit. When she introduced the singer Pink, she made mention of her mess in Flushing Meadow. "Because she'll be soaring high above Radio City's stage, she won't have to worry about stepping on any lines," Williams said.

Some laughed. Smart people did not.

I'm surprised that some media are suggesting the entire flap is good for tennis. It's never good for a sport when young people watch a hero implode via abusive behavior. Serena's backers say we'd be giving breaks to male players who've thrown tirades, from McEnroe's screaming rants to Jimmy Connors' wagging finger to Andre Agassi firing a serve at a Wimbledon lineswoman and wondering about her sex life. Did any of them threaten to kill a line judge? They'd have loved to, perhaps, but they never voiced it. And I'm not alone in thinking Williams' damage is done. Many legends agree with the premise, including Martina Navratilova.

There also is the issue of why she mysteriously loses so often in the early rounds of non-majors. How can she win three of four majors before the Open and not win a non-major in that span? Is she tanking? If so, why even show up and rip off ticket-buyers expecting her to play? "Maybe it pays more," she said of the Grand Slam events, flashing a smile. "I guess I'm trying to pay off my mortgage."

For this and other reasons, a lot of tennis insiders think she's a colossal fraud -- and that her Open behavior is further evidence. What a shame. Here we have one of the greatest female players ever, and yet every time she's in position to prove it, something bad happens. She says she'll march on.

"I'm happy where I'm at," said Williams, who turns 28 later this month. "I feel like I have several hundred more years to play."

Through it all, she'll carry a perpetual weight. And I don't mean her world-famous butt, either.

Serena's Legacy Marred Beyond Repair originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Federer Needs More to Be Greatest Ever

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:02:00 EST

Filed under: Tennis

He dropped to his knees on the clay, the dreaded clay, and released years of agonizing pressure with a scream. Then came the tears, the long hugs and the lofting of a trophy toward the sky, all performed with a finality that puzzled me. Yes, Roger Federer at last had seized the French Open, the one crater on his Grand Slam resume. But he'd done so only after Rafael Nadal, his injured nemesis, was bounced in a fourth-round loss that ended his 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

This is akin to having a tryst with Angelina Jolie while Brad Pitt is in a coma. It's a bit misleading, wouldn't you say?

I won't be so crass to suggest an asterisk. In sport's age of corruption, the evil * is reserved specifically for steroids users. But why are so many tennis people having Nadal-related amnesia and declaring, point blank, that Federer now is the greatest player ever? Doesn't he have to beat Nadal at least once on the Paris clay, stlll a glaring bugaboo, before being declared the preeminent player of all time? Doesn't Federer need to win several more than his current 14 Grand Slam titles before he can separate himself definitively from players back in the pre-Open era, many of whom weren't permitted to compete in the major events for years because they were professionals?

"Now the question is: Am I the greatest player of all time?" Federer said rhetorically. "We don't know, but I definitely have many things going for me because I've finally won all four Grand Slams."

Almost arrogantly, that ignores the epic achievement of a old-schooler such as the Australian, Rod Laver, who won the true Grand Slam twice -- all four majors within a calendar year, which Federer has not done. Laver won 11 Grand Slam titles, leaving him three shy of Federer and Pete Sampras, but he surely would have won many more in his prime had he been allowed to play in the majors between 1963 and the advent of the Open era in 1968. "I don't think you can compare eras," Laver argued. "You can be the dominant performer of your time, but I don't think anyone has the title of best ever."

"What Laver did is godlike," said Andre Agassi, a tennis giant who clearly is in position to judge. "To win all of them in the same year twice -- how do you argue with that?"

You don't. Yet Federer and his boosters take a quantum leap anyway, as if not considering what happened as recently as January at the Australian Open, where he was such an emotional wreck in losing another big one to Nadal that he wept uncontrollably at the trophy ceremony and had to be consoled by the Spaniard. At that point, Nadal had beaten him five straight and won 13 of their previous 19 matches. Suddenly, we're forgetting all of that? Do we really think Nadal, at full health, would have lost to Federer in Paris? How do we anoint Federer as THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME when he has been on a lengthy death spiral against Nadal, whose most memorable triumph in the rivalry was the five-set classic in the Wimbledon final last July? There's a disconnect here that I don't understand. Why aren't people acknowledging that a very good reason why this is happening is because Nadal has knee problems?

"This could be my biggest victory, one that takes off the most pressure," Federer said. "Now, for the rest of my career, I can play relaxed and never hear again that I never won the French Open. I can go on with the rest of my career in peace knowing I don't have to worry about never winning here."

That may be true. But when the topic is history, we must be careful before issuing grand proclamations. I feel very uncomfortable crowning Federer when Nadal has been appreciably better in head-to-head competition. How can he be the greatest player ever when he hasn't been the greatest player in 2008 and 2009? Can we not make the argument that Nadal, who just turned 23 and is almost five years younger than Federer, is positioned to win the most Grand Slams of anyone? Agassi admits that Federer isn't nearly as dominating as he was in the pre-Nadal era, when he was so transcendent that he became buddies and endorsement partners with Tiger Woods.

"He's not quite the same player overall he was when he was dominating," Agassi said. "Might have lost a half step. Now, obviously, people always look good winning, but I thought Nadal started to get better and you could argue that Federer was losing an edge."

Point is, the only way Federer got his mojo back was when Nadal struggled at the French. Now there's a chance Nadal will be at less than full strength at Wimbledon, where he hasn't officially committed to defending his title because of knee issues. We expect him to be there, but he did pull out of the traditional Wimbledon tuneup this week at Queen's Club in London. "I have been having some problems in the past months with my knees -- that's no secret -- that did not allow me to compete always at 100 percent," Nadal said. "I need to work with my team to recover well, work on my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready for the grass to play at Wimbledon. I hope I can be ready to compete by then."

The announcement should come by Wednesday. If Nadal skips Wimbledon, Federer will have a golden opportunity to win his 15th -- again, because Nadal was absent. At first, Federer expressed concern about the injury, saying Monday, "I was surprised to see him pull out of Queen's, and now the debate that he might pull out of Wimbledon is quite frightening. I don't like to see it, because you want the best to be playing in the biggest events."

But then he seemed to take a shot at Nadal's injury credibility, perhaps a suggestion that his rival is embellishing the severity of the knee trouble after losing to Robin Soderling at Roland Garros. "It seems like it's not 100 percent serious, his knee injury. I only wish him the best and I hope it's not true that he will miss Wimbledon. I think it's a lot of speculation at the moment," Federer said. "He wasn't taping his knees here in Paris. He seemed fine -- [from] what I saw, anyway. I've played him so many times, I can tell when he's in pain and when he's not."

French Open Photos

(C)BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM ***NO CANADA*** Eva Longoria Parker and husband Tony Parker cheer in the stands while watching Roger Federer win his first French Open title at Roland Garros stadium. NON-EXCLUSIVE June 7, 2009 Job: 56918EW Paris, France www.bauergriffin.com www.bauergriffinonline.com [56922]

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PARIS - JUNE 08: Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with his French Open winners trophy at the Arc de Triomphe on June 8, 2009 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Roger Federer

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PARIS - JUNE 08: Roger Federer of Switzerland speaks during a French Open press conference at the Park Hyatt on June 8, 2009 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Roger Federer

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All of which sets up drama perhaps unprecedented in men's tennis. Oh, we've seen epic battles involving the likes of Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. And, of course, we've seen the contrasting personalities and games of Agassi and Sampras. But this? With advances in racket technology and physical training, you sense we're watching the game at its optimum level, even if tennis doesn't jazz the masses as it did 30 years ago. If Nadal plays at Wimbledon and beats Federer, the Swiss gentleman will lose the cachet he reclaimed in Paris. The sport will belong to Nadal again.

And my argument will look even better.

Federer is a class act, even when in those nauseating preppy sweaters. That's why people root for him. Sampras, who never even reached the French final, was quick to pronounce Federer the best ever. "I'm obviously happy for Roger," Sampras told The Associated Press. "Now that he has won in Paris, I think it just more solidifies his place in history as the greatest player that played the game, in my opinion."

Even with a 7-13 record against Nadal? "Roger's numbers are hard to disagree with," Agassi said. "And then you have a guy who's beaten him almost twice as much. Sounds like an Achilles' heel."

Also sounds like a reason to hold off on the coronation. Federer should be all about amassing major championships over the coming two or three years, aiming for a final number that history can't ignore. His buddy, Woods, won't be satisfied until he breaks Jack Nicklaus' career record of 18 golf majors. Come to think of it, 19 or 20 would be a fine number for Federer, who won our respect for the way he handled the idiot who emerged from the stands, tried to drape a hat on Federer's head and waved a Barcelona flag in his face. Given the horrid episode tennis always will live with -- the knife attack on Monica Seles by a crazed fan, who shockingly never served jail time while Seles' career never was the same afterward -- it's appalling that a good 10 seconds passed before security guards finally tackled and subdued the so-called Jimmy Jump, a professional prankster and intruder. Fortunately, Federer kept his cool and beat Soderling for the title.

"I didn't know what had happened until I heard the crowd react," he said. "So that gave me a fright seeing him so close right away. Normally, they look at you and say 'Sorry, I have to do this,' but this guy looked at me and I was not sure what he wanted. He seemed to want to give me something. It definitely threw me out of my rhythm. Maybe I should have sat down and taken a minute to reflect on what had happened: 'Was that real or what?' It was a touch scary."

Gilbert Ysern, new security director at Roland Garros, had a peculiar take. "It's always a shame when it does happen," he said. "You can't view it fatalistically, though. We will try all we can to find solutions before next year so it doesn't happen again. We already have strict security measures in place, but we will review them." It's 2009, guy. We view things fatalistically.

It's the latest chapter in one of the more puzzling careers ever enjoyed by a sports legend. I can't remember an athlete trying to make history when the precious present is holding him back. Federer got a reprieve in Paris -- a shot of rejuvenation -- but it will be forgotten if Nadal continues to school him.

"Roger has earned his place, his rightful place in the game. Winning here was just something that would have been a bit of a crime if he never did," Agassi said. "He's been the second-best clay courter for five years running, and if it weren't for one kid from Majorca, he would have won a handful of these things."

The kid from Majorca is Rafael Nadal. Every time he plays Federer from this point on, take my advice: Make a TV appointment no matter what time it is. These are the matches that will settle the wildest tennis argument in years. And don't be surprised if in 10 years, we'll be calling Nadal the greatest tennis player ever.

Imagine Roger Federer as an afterthought. To avoid it, he'd better win a few more titles, starting June 22 at the All England Club.

Fourteen is debatable. Nineteen is unassailable.

Federer Needs More to Be Greatest Ever originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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