Wimbledon

[imaufo]

The princess and the showgirl

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/06/04/serena.jpg

June 6, 2004

She's uninhibited, supremely confident, and hoping for a second win at Wimbledon later this month. Sue Mott meets Serena Williams.

'None of us are introverts," said Serena Williams, unnecessarily. We had kind of gathered that. Something about her winning six grand-slam titles in between working as an actress and establishing her own fashion house (at the age of 22) helped us draw that conclusion.

Meanwhile, her sister Venus is also pretty big in the tennis world; her father Richard rivals Donald Trump for being the least shy man in America and her mother Oracene, who intrigues Wimbledon every year with a new hairdo, is currently sporting a pink cast on her wrist after a roller-skating accident.

This is not your normal family, which goes a long way to explaining its baby scion, Serena.

She is conducting this conversation from beneath the brim of a bright turquoise cap on the terracotta terrace of a gorgeous hotel near the Piazza del Popolo in Rome and is musing on the question of whether - like Muhammad Ali - she has the right to say of herself: "I am the greatest."

"I can't say I do," she murmured after a short internal wrestle. "I mean, I love Muhammad Ali. He's an icon. I met him once, years and years ago. I wish I could meet him again. The only reason I wouldn't say 'I am the greatest' right now in my career is that my accomplishments compared to Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King aren't any greater. I am striving to become the greatest.

"Tennis-wise I want to win tons more grand slams. If I do, I definitely do think I'll be the greatest. I guess you have to say it the way it is. I see myself becoming that."

Modesty forbids Serena nothing. She is possibly the most lavishly confident young woman the sports world has produced. She seems almost supernaturally over-endowed with self-regard. Then you look at her record, her work ethic, her millions, her earrings and remind yourself: the dear girl is only telling the truth.

Serena is simply uninhibited. Whether striking a tennis ball with pulverising robustness or scouring the Via de Corso in pursuit of new handbags, she brooks no denial. Take Miami in March. It was her first tournament, and a major one, since surgery on her left knee the previous August. She ought to have been rusty, if nothing else. Instead, she won, beating - dismissing - Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-1, 6-1 in 50 minutes.

"I wasn't match fit so it was kind of crazy. Incredible. I didn't think I'd win. I underestimated myself, as a player, as a professional. I'll never do that again."

And then take the press conference after her first match in Rome. A journalist asked whether she would dine out that night. "Do you want to take me out?" she responded immediately and, to mass hilarity, growled at him like a seriously interested tigress.

"It wasn't necessarily flirting," she offered as a disclaimer the next day. She has learnt to strike up conversations herself because so many acquaintances are too frozen with terror by her fame and reputation to say anything. "People do get intimidated, especially in those type of situations. I'm really, maybe overly, friendly. I'm nice. But I don't get taken advantage of - I'm not that nice.

"I do make mistakes though. With men, I definitely have," she giggled evasively. "Met the wrong guy. Well, a couple of 'em. I can't even make those mistakes any more. I've really become so cold-hearted now." More laughter. "Sometimes I just laugh. You have to. Oh God. You can't really have a private life in America. Oh, what am I talking about? America? London's even worse.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe the people I've dated that I don't even know I've dated. I've never even met them. I went to a Laker game once with a friend and I was like, 'Oh my God, that's a guy I dated. Now I know what he looks like'. I was cracked up. It was so funny. I never even met the guy but I was allegedly dating him. I can't even remember his name.

"And then it was rumoured I was dating a couple of married men, I didn't like that at all. It was outrageous." The men in question were both hulking gridiron stars, LaVar Arrington and Keyshawn Johnson, and clearly a veil has been thrown over their existence. Serena, a Jehovah's Witness, is trying to adhere to the teachings of her church.

"We don't believe in dating unless you're ready to get married. I've never dated anybody. It's good to get experience under your belt but you should never get wild or go crazy. That's how I look at it. If I can't see myself with this person for life - I can't be bothered. I can't waste my time.

"I have some really good men friends but I believe in no sex before marriage. No fornicating. Stuff like that. I really believe in that. I mean, I'm not perfect. It's hard to live by Bible standards but I'm really comfortable with me. There's so much peer pressure. So much pressure, period. I've just removed myself from it. I don't know if I'll fall in love again."

This is accompanied by the sigh of an actress in full-blown Greta Garbo rehearsal. But bonhomie keeps breaking through, like the spring Roman sun overhead. However hard she tries, Serena is not a convincing depressive.

"I do have my moments. I sometimes feel insecure if I go up for audition and don't do well. I think, 'Gosh, darn it!' Then I have to quickly snap myself out of it. Get back to reality. Because I figure I'm going to be the best at everything I put my mind to.

"Everyone says I'm a natural actress but I need to be more expressive with my eyes. You have to use every facial thing you can muster up in emotional roles. Crying: it's difficult. I can though."

The last time we saw her in real tears was the French Open last year when she lost in the semi-final to Justine Henin-Hardenne, who deployed questionable gamesmanship en route to victory, amid storms of anti-Williams jeering. "I was real upset," said Serena, with a rueful laugh. "People can be unruly and kind. Not French people in particular, people in general. But it was my own double fault because I should have been stronger to deal with it.

"But now, I'm really, really mature. I may only be 22 but every year I mature about five years."

She smiled with a cat-like contentment. "I've learnt to look out for me. Because the next person's not going to. They'll run over you and back up and run over you, and back up and run over you. I just can't have that right now. Like tennis, it's dog eat dog. But I get along with everyone on the women's tour. We travel around like a big family."

Even Henin-Hardenne? "Ah well, I don't really talk to her. She's not around much so I can't tell you what her personality's like. If I see her, I'm real cordial but we never really see each other that much."

Serena lapsed into silence, gazing unseeingly at a lemon tree. Possibly she was contemplating the fact that Henin-Hardenne is officially the world's number-one female tennis player, an almost incomputable notion in Williams-world. "I wanna get back to being number one. I like being on top. It's something I like waking up to in the morning."

It must be an irritation that she is not. "I can't even tell you what I'm ranked. Let's just put it like that. If I'm not number one, I don't know what I am. But, you know, it's funny. Everybody still thinks I'm number one. Anywhere I go they say, 'Oh my God, you're number one, aren't you?' and I say, 'Yes I am!' If I try to explain to the regular public in America who is number one, they've never heard of her. So I just say, 'It's me! It's me!' Why not?"

"Serena," said her mother, wandering up, "is a nut." She smiled indulgently at her daughter who put an arm around her mother's shoulder and kissed her ear affectionately. This family has been through the stress of divorce and the terrible tragedy of an elder sister, Yetunde, being shot dead at her home in Los Angeles last year.

Oracene goes to court in August to fight for custody of her three grandchildren, two boys and a girl, who she is currently looking after. This surrogate parenthood explains the roller-skating accident.

Serena cannot talk much about Yetunde's death. "I haven't really coped yet. I'm trying to figure out how to cope with it. But not a day goes by when I don't think of it and I try to make sure I talk to all my sisters every day."

This sisterhood has been undoubtedly crucial in her life. In the mock battle of professional sport, undiluted support is a formidable weapon. "My sister Isha put it best. She said something like, 'You're a queen so you should have the best. You're a princess so you should get everything you want.' I thought, 'You know what. You're right'."

Venus, however, is a little tougher to crack. As far as we know their on-court rivalry, now utterly dominated by the youngest sister, never extends to a family fallout. But in the wardrobe wars, Serena has been known to take a loss. "I'm always raiding her wardrobe. I like her furs."

Serena has her own fashion line: Aneres. "My name spelt backwards," she explained. "My goal in a couple of years is to try to build a successful fashion house like Armani or Versace. I want that more than anything." More than being an actress? She thought for a split second. "I want 'em all."

Plus that elusive boyfriend. "I'm into someone who has high morals, loves his mum, gives me respect and treats me like a princess." What can you say? That this is not quite the template into which Neanderthal man has evolved. "Oh I know," she sighed with resignation, than chuckled. "I like to look at Mariah Carey, Sandra Bullock. Beautiful women. Talented women. We're all in the same situation. It's hard to find a good man."

A few bad ones, she has already encountered. She is security conscious and uses bodyguards. "Yes, I have to. With stalkers and crazy people," she said glumly. "I don't like it when people touch my arm. But I've never, ever, ever in my life been in a fight. Ever." Delighted pause. "I'm waiting. Like, can I punch somebody please, before my life is over?"

Well, it's an ambition. No doubt, some clear-eyed promoter will suggest Serena v Muhammad Ali's daughter in the ring at Madison Square Garden. And you cannot be sure that Serena would not give it serious, even thrilled, consideration.

But first, there is a tennis career to re-rail. Her left knee may not have fully recuperated (she lost in Amelia Island, Florida, in April to a Russian, seeded ninth, who enjoys fishing) and Henin-Hardenne has the mental toughness of a prize fighter if not the punch. Wimbledon could be interesting.

"I loo-oove Wimbledon," she said. "I love Wimbledon so much. Everybody in their lifetime should go to Wimbledon. It's like seeing one of the seven wonders of the world. I feel so honoured to be part of Wimbledon's history for the rest of my life. The atmosphere, the tradition, the crowd, the village, everyone wearing white, the grass - so clean and crisp. And that announcer! I'm telling ya, I go really insane when I hear him say, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the fifth day of the Wimbledon Championships'." Serena performs the line in a hugely sedate English accent then convulses with laughter.

"And I love it when he says, 'Thirteenth day!' because that's women's final day and I'm there!"

If this sounds presumptuous, it could also be dead right. And if it happens, we won't miss her easily. "Last year my underwear was white, I think. I was pretty modest but this year I like the idea of gold." It sounds like a James Bond remake: Serena Williams in gold knickers. We wait with interest.

- Daily Telegraph

[Seabiscuit]

Will Tiger Tim triumph in the Mens Singles this year? It seems his odds on Betfair have traded down to $7.40 after his showing on the clay of Roland Garros.

I am not sure if Tiger Tim has simply not been good enough to win in the past or if he is a choker.

[cheesebeast]

He ain't good enough! Surefire winning lay.

[cheesebeast]

Maybe I'm wrong. Or Goran's got a Betfair account?

Ivanisevic betting on Henman


REUTERS and ASSOCIATED PRESS in London


Tim Henman will win Wimbledon. He is ready, playing with great confidence - it is his year.
The Briton himself would never say as much but a man who knows more than a little about timing, fate and Wimbledon magic is more than happy to put his money where his mouth is.

"Tim will win," Goran Ivanisevic said with his broad Croatian smile.

"It is his year. He has got what he was missing before. He is really enjoying it now.

"Getting to the semi-finals of the French Open on clay, beating those guys, he has shown he can really do it," added the player who entered Wimbledon folklore in 2001 when he won the tournament as a wildcard.

"I am going to put some money on Tim. It is the first time I can say that he is number one favourite," Ivanisevic said at Queen's Club, where he lost his first-round match 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 to Romanian Victor Hanescu.

Three times a losing finalist at the Wimbledon before winning it three years ago, Ivanisevic was not able to defend his title due to injuries.

This year the 32-year-old returns to the All England Club for the first time since his victory - and it will be his last tournament.

"Listen, Wimbledon means everything to me. I qualified there in 1988, that was the start of everything," he said. "I lost three finals there, two semi-finals. Everyone thought I was finished and then I won it. Wimbledon and me, we have a special relationship."

Ivanisevic was not the only early big-name loser at Queen's. Andre Agassi, a first-round loser at the French Open, lost his opening match to a player ranked 60th and making his debut on grass.

It was the first time since August 1997 the 34-year-old Agassi had lost three straight opening-round matches. Agassi lost 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3) to Russia's Igor Andreev, then failed to show up at a news conference. He faces a fine from the ATP.

The third-seeded Agassi rallied in the third-set tiebreaker from a 4-0 deficit to 4-3. But he then committed three unforced errors, including a forehand into the net on match point. The eight-time Grand Slam winner lost to Jerome Haehnel at Roland Garros following a first-match loss at St Poelten, Austria, also on clay.

Andreev had 18 aces against Agassi. The Russian beat Juan Carlos Ferrero, the defending champion, in the second round at the French Open and lost to eventual champion Gaston Gaudio in the fourth round. "It's amazing," Andreev said. "It's a dream for me. I beat Ferrero at the French Open and the first time to play on grass I beat Andre Agassi, my idol."

[cheesebeast]

John McEnroe: You Ask The Questions
You're looking for a young British tennis player who can win at Wimbledon - have you found one yet? And can you be serious?
10 June 2004


John McEnroe was born on a military base in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1959 to American parents, but grew up in New York. In 1977, he won his first tennis title: the mixed doubles at the French Open. He went on to win four US Opens and three Wimbledon championships between 1979 and 1984 - the most famous being in 1981, the year he first beat the title holder, Bjorn Borg. Known as much for his tantrums as his number one ranking, McEnroe earned the nickname "Superbrat". Since retiring from professional tennis, he has been a sports commentator on NBC and CBS and the presenter of a BBC quiz show, The Chair in 2002. He now lives in New York with his second wife, the singer Patty Smyth, whom he married in 1997, and six children.

What five things should everyone do before they die?
Anna Sexton, by e-mail

Let's see: play music; be involved in sport; appreciate the arts; enjoy a nice beer; and love a woman and hope that it's reciprocated. Actually, forget the beer. The most important thing of all is to have children, because that puts everything else in perspective. I've done all those things, so I guess I've been lucky. All in all, it's been a pretty wild ride, but a good one.

Did you deserve "Superbrat"?
Liz Jenkins, Godalming

Oh, I wouldn't say so. There's no doubt that there were tantrums, but "Superbrat" was just one of those names that looked good on the back page of the newspaper - short and not sweet. In time, it became a monster that I couldn't control and it still hasn't really died completely.

We needed an American to kick-start Britain's Olympic bid. We need a Swede to make the England football team win. And I hear you're leading the search for a Brit who can win Wimbledon. What's wrong with us?
Phil Carter, Salford

I wouldn't be that sweeping about it. First of all, the Swede hasn't won the World Cup for you yet. There's no reason why the British can't be winners again. Who knows where we would've been in the Second World War without the British? I would never say that you're a hopeless case. Even the law of averages dictates that sooner or later you'll have some success.

Who are the greatest rock band of all time?
Charlene Hathaway, Bedford

I would have to go with Led Zeppelin. They were my favourite band when I was growing up. The first time I saw them live was in 1975 in Madison Square Gardens. But, funnily enough, I remember that they played their songs a little differently and, being naïve, I was like, "Why doesn't it sound exactly like the record?" So, I did enjoy it, but maybe I was a little hyper-critical. I'm a perfectionist, I guess, and that's probably a good example of that trait.

You've said that your kids have changed you. In what way?
Ben Patton, by e-mail

They've made me a more patient person. They've kept my feet on the ground, my priorities in order and, in general, made me a better person. There's nothing more exhilarating and also frustrating than being a parent, but I'd like to think I'm a good one.

Who will win Wimbledon this year?
Bob Shackleton, Southampton

Roger Federer. He won last year. He's the best all-round tennis player. The odds of Tim Henman winning Wimbledon drop lower every year, but he probably played the best tennis of his career on a different surface to grass last week at the French Open.

Have you ever had any secret superstitions - like wearing the same pair of socks or underpants for a whole tournament?
Adam Saint-Pierre, Aberdeen

Nothing serious. My superstitions were more dumb than crazy. And they'd change from time to time. Sometimes, before I served, I'd make sure I walked on the white lines of the tennis court. And before I returned, I'd make sure I didn't walk on the lines. But I wouldn't worry if I didn't do it. It was almost just to keep my mind from going off on a tangent just before I served.

Early on, I did have lucky pairs of socks. At times I'd mismatch socks for luck and at times wear the same socks. But it'd become a pretty smelly situation, so either way, it couldn't go on for long. Even now, I switch around little superstitions. For example, sometimes I might wash my feet a couple of times before a match and, if things go well, I carry on doing it.

Is it important to be a good loser?
Chris Monaghan, Belfast

Yes. It's better to have gone out there and failed than not to have tried at all. Believe it or not, I always thought I was a good loser. It depends on your definition. I would say that a good loser is someone who doesn't try to make excuses about why they lost. I always felt I gave credit when credit was due. Obviously, if you've ever watched me play tennis, you know that I don't believe in covering up my emotions on court.

Who are you going to vote for in the US Presidential election?
Ruth Tomlinson, Stockton

John Kerry. I think we're in desperate need of a change. I travel a fair amount outside the United States and I'm concerned about the way we are viewed in the rest of the world. Nobody had come up to me and said, "You ugly American", but then I'm not hanging around in Pakistan. I wish I knew enough about the Iraq war to be able to know what the right thing to do is, but if someone said to me today, "You have do decide what to do", I would pull the troops out.

What is your favourite memory of Bjorn Borg during your heyday?
Christine Fricker, Norwich

The great final we played in 1980 at Wimbledon - that's the match that everyone comes up to talk to me about. Of course, it's the tie-breaker at the end of the fourth set where it see-sawed back and forth that really sticks in my mind. I won it 18-16 to make it two sets all, but then lost the final set 6-8. I felt like I was part of something special that day - and I really thought I was going to win. I think that match showed that I could be a good loser. In fact, even though I lost that match, I didn't feel like a loser.

Would you consider coming to live in Britain? If so, where would you like to set up home?
Monica Brightwell, Cambridge

I would certainly consider it and, if I did, I would probably have to live in London. The language is one incentive - I don't speak another. But, I'm an American and I think America's the greatest country in the world so I don't think there's anything that Britain does better than us. What I'm saying is, I could live in Britain.

If all the world's art works - including sculptures - were somehow about to be destroyed in a fire and you could save just one, which would you choose?
Joe Mullaney, Redruth

Guernica by Picasso, because its message is so strong, and especially relevant now with the difficulties in Iraq. With that painting, Picasso summed up the hellishness of war really well.

Professional sports people are overpaid prima donnas, lavished with respect and adulation they don't deserve and paid far too much money for hitting a rubber ball over a net (in the case of tennis), while their talents could be better used to do some good in the world. Please discuss.
Richard Jones, West London

I don't disagree with that at all. That's just the way our society is. Why are sportsmen overpaid and teachers, firemen and policemen underpaid? I don't have an answer to that. But people do need to let go and sport is a way of doing that. Certainly, it's a great way to make a living - I don't even consider it a job.

I have thought of using my talents in a different way by becoming a politician - I thought I could bring an honesty to politics. But I realised pretty quickly that it's a dirty job - the closer I looked at it, the uglier it got. I haven't totally discounted becoming a politician, but it's highly unlikely. And, fortunately for the United States of America, I was born in West Germany, so I can't become President.

Can you be serious?
Damien Truman, by e-mail

I can be. I'm serious about being a good husband and parent. But I prefer not to take myself too seriously in this crazy world we live in.

Could the Williams sisters beat you at tennis?
Arthur Hackett, London

I believe I could beat them - playing them either individually or at the same time. In fact, it would probably be easier playing them together because they'd confuse each other. The Williams sisters have said they think they can beat men and that they're bored in the women's game, but they haven't come through on it. It's true that in most tennis tournaments, women players receive less prize money than men, but they are by far the best paid women athletes.

The Williams sisters make 50 times what female soccer players make. If I were them, I would thank my lucky stars that Billie-Jean King came around and made it possible for them.

I understand you're looking for a British player who can win Wimbledon on day. Have you found one yet?
Kirsty Taylor, by e-mail

Well, I wouldn't say we'd found one yet, but I think we're on the right track. A Brit hasn't won Wimbledon for 66 years now and it becomes more difficult every year. The problem is that in Britain losing well has been considered as important, if not more so, than going all out to win - the opposite of what Americans are told.

John McEnroe is leading Ariel Tennis Ace, a campaign to find the next potential British tennis champion. For more information, visit www.ariel.co.uk.

http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=529862

[imaufo]

June 21, 2004

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/06/20/200_rogerfederer2.jpg
Champion reaction: Roger Federer celebrates his men's singles triumph at Wimbledon last year. Photo: Reuters

With Wimbledon starting today, John McEnroe laments the absence of the great rivalries that once made tennis so compelling.

When people talk to me about the old days, they invariably mention the 1980 Wimbledon final, which I lost to Bjorn Borg. It seems like I lost that match 20 times more than I lost any other. You would have thought that after all these years I'd be sick and tired of the mention of it, but I'm not.

When you have a rivalry that was as good as ours, it's an honour to know it's still remembered - even the defeats. In fact, it helps ease the pain of losing.

Tennis needs great rivalries like that. Every sport does. Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier, Jack Nicklaus versus Arnold Palmer. Tennis needs to get back to those kind of rivalries that I had with Borg and Jimmy Connors, or that Pete Sampras had with Andre Agassi, in order to give the sport that extra edge. There aren't too many obvious ones around at the moment, but I could see Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, the Wimbledon and US Open champions respectively, developing into a pretty good one.

It would help if there was another men's player around to duel with Federer and Roddick. But there's only a select few who could rise to that level. An ideal type would be Lleyton Hewitt, who has this great intensity. He is a little guy who wants to prove he can play with the big boys.

Other than him, I think there is only Marat Safin who has real box-office appeal. There's an element of the Ali-George Foreman mix about Roddick and Federer. The American is the one with the big shot, like Foreman, but if he doesn't get the job done, as was the case at Wimbledon last year, then Federer has the versatility of an Ali to finish him off. Roddick has a bigger serve than Federer but doesn't back it up as well. And while his forehand may be better than Federer's, his backhand definitely isn't.

When Federer gets into a rally, he has a comfort level that is remarkable to watch, particularly against an opponent who hits the ball as hard as Roddick, which is harder than I have ever seen anyone hit a ball. Normally, it's difficult to remain calm in such circumstances but Federer plays with an ease that the rest of us can only dream about.

Roddick hasn't had things all his own way since the US Open, although he did win the Nasdaq-100 Open. His defeat by Federer in last year's Wimbledon semi-final ought to have left him desperate to renew their rivalry.

In the women's game, there are great possibilities for an exciting rivalry between Justine Henin-Hardenne and Serena and Venus Williams.

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert played each other something like 80 times. Now that's a rivalry. A lefty against a righty and a woman who never showed her emotion against one who generally did. Martina Hingis's rivalry with the Williamses was great while it lasted. The Swiss girl had this cocky attitude. It was like, 'I can take care of these two'. You either liked her or you didn't but that only added to the fascination. If anything, the women's game has the potential for even greater rivalries than the men's, particularly if Kim Clijsters can find that extra level.

Great rivalries depend on certain factors that usually have to include either a contrast in styles or personalities - and preferably both. The only acceptable similarity between the pair, I would say, would be if they were both to wear tight shorts. And if they topped them off with headbands, all the better.

Sadly for me, my rivalry with Borg did not last anywhere near as long as many people imagine. We met 14 times in major competition - seven wins apiece - and although that was far fewer than I played against Connors (20-13 in my favour) or Ivan Lendl (15-21 in his favour), the rivalry between the Swede and myself was easily the most memorable.

There was a contrast in styles and obviously a contrast in personalities. It also helps enormously when people care who wins, when they have personal favourites, and I think that was definitely the case with Borg and myself.

The clothes, the hair, even the wooden racquets - the whole picture was magical. But there was never any bitterness between us, as there was between Connors and Lendl and myself. It was one of the great regrets of my career when Borg decided to retire after the 1981 US Open at the age of 25. I know our rivalry made me a better player and I like to think it made him better, too. I just feel I could have improved more had he stayed around.

I remember Rod Laver was the first guy to make $US100,000 ($145,000) but he had to play 30 to 35 tournaments to do it. If you look at most players from Laver's time, they're still doing things, be it coaching or running tennis academies. They have got real jobs. But Borg was the first one to be able to retire on what he had made from the sport. Another reason he retired, perhaps, was that he thought his game no longer matched up well against mine on the faster surfaces.

The year he quit I had beaten him, I believe, on three straight occasions, including Wimbledon and the US Open. Remember, too, although he was still young, he had been playing for a long time. He turned pro when he was 15. I still think he pulled the trigger a little too quickly. He also had a great rivalry with Connors and was dominating him the last couple of years they played. The year after he retired I lost in the semi-finals of the US Open to Lendl and Connors won the title. Who was to say that Borg wouldn't have beaten him if he had still been around? There doesn't always have to be a contrast in personalities for great rivalries to thrive. Connors and I were both fairly similar types, both very emotional, like two stags locking horns. But there was a distinct difference in our style of play: he would come at you from the baseline, while I would come at him from the net.

Neither of us liked to lose to the other so we would each go to extreme lengths in order not to do so. Of course, enmity like that can make for great rivalries, as can great effort. Most people would say, 'God, you're really into this, you really try hard', and I would always compare myself to Connors. I would try to be as good a competitor as he was but I was always coming up a little short. I cannot pay him any greater respect than that.

I don't believe Sampras would have been as impressive a player had it not been for his rivalry with Agassi, which lifted him to great heights. Rivalries can do that for you. I mean, I would have loved to have played regularly against Sampras and Boris Becker on grass in my prime or Borg more often on clay. I would probably have lost most of them but that's what you want to do as an athlete: test yourself against the best. Agassi first played Sampras when they were 10 and nine respectively.

The first rivalry I can recall was between Laver and Ken Rosewall. I remember wanting Rocket Rod to win so bad, which he usually did, but Rosewall often found a way of hanging in there. Laver was my idol. He had every shot in the book long before Federer had it. Rosewall was 5ft 7in (1.7m), didn't have much of a serve, and always hit his backhand sliced - he never came over a backhand - yet somehow he made four Wimbledon finals, including one at 19 and another at 39.

I remember playing him once when he was preparing for a winner-takes-all tournament in Madison Square Garden. He needed a practice partner. I was 17 at the time and lucky enough to get the call. I was so pumped up but he made me work so hard. I was exhausted by the end of it, having lost something like 6-4, 6-3. And I thought, at least I made him work a little bit, too. And then he says to me, 'You wanna play another set?' I nearly died.

[Seabiscuit]

Good to see old McEnroe living in the past. He is just bitter because he can no longer compete with the likes of Nalbandian (Bandy).