Christmas is one of my favorite times of year, especially when it comes to tennis. Not only is there a short lull in the action for me to be able to rewind and watch all those great matches I got on tape during the year, but its also a time for me to get and give some great tennis-related gifts and goodies. Here's what's on my list for this year:
1. IN*TENN Magazine. A new DVD format magazine, shipped directly to your house. Sort of like 60 minutes with a tennis theme. And the commercials are pretty good, too. I wish that IN*TENN has a banner launch year and that someone in my gift-giving chain buys me a subscription.
2. Anastasia Myskina. Okay, so she's not the prettiest of the Russian wave, but she is quite exotic. And she is the best of all of them. I love to watch her play, and her single-handed winning of the Fed Cup two weeks ago for Russia only says that she is the best of the bunch.
3. The return of Martina Hingis. I heard she is entering some tiny tournament in Thailand, supposedly for charity. I'm hoping it's to feel her way back onto the tour. She could still kick butt, and I miss her attitude.
4. Another U.S. Open title for Andre Agassi. 2005 could very well be his last full year on the tour, and I would love to see him end it with a big win on home soil. He is a great person, tennis player, and humanitarian.
5. A year free of the Marat Safin Mafia. That's what I call them. It never fails that with every article I write about great players and matchups, I always get a ton of e-mail from the usual suspects who make comments that are not very nice. All of them trying to say that Marat Safin is the greatest tennis player ever. I am sure many people would disagree...
6. Something more appropriate on the body of Serena Williams. Okay, Nike let things get out of hand a little at the U.S. Open, and the pink toto at the season-ending championships wasn't much better. Serena can do anything she wants with her Aneres clothing line, but please, Santa, bring Nike a dose of good old common sense.
7. More televised matches that have Tatiana Golovin, Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Myskina, Ashley Harkleroad, Karolin Sprem, and all of the other young and rising stars. Oh, and please put them on a network other then the Tennis Channel.
8. The Tennis Channel on my cable service. Seems the Tennis Channel still isn't on Comcast and a slew of other large cable networks. They keep getting the rights to much of the tennis product out there, and only a handful of anyone can see it. Please, oh please, Santa, have Steve Bellamy call my local cable outlet and get a deal done now!
9. A five-set, 22-20 fifth set final between Roger Federer and Tim Henman at Wimbledon, with Tim Henman coming out the winner. I know, tall order for the little man in red, but if there was ever any one person who deserved it this much, it would be Tim. And think of all the fun we could have watching this match on the telly.
10. Lastly, but not least, a highly successful launch for new custom racquet manufacturer Vantage Sports International Vantage Tennis. It is the newest racquet company to emerge on the market, founded and led by Mr. Paul Angell. Angell is formerly the head of racquet development at Dunlop and one of the greatest proponents of computer-aided manufacturing techniques in research, development and engineering of racquet sports equipment. Vantage Tennis will offer custom racquets for players at competitive with the mass market prices.
Vantage will offer three head size choices (90, 95, and 100), open or closed string patterns, two stiffness choices, five different lengths, 13 weight/balance choices, two frame color choices, four handle shapes, five different grips, and a series of other services previously only available to high-ranking pros and players with great financial resources. All levels of players will benefit by this, but serious players will now be able to get a "stick" that will maximize their personal game and truly become part of their arm.
Having your current frame customized by a professional racquet technician is the only other way to get this, and even then, it is hard to find a local person who is competent at it. There are two world-famous racquet shops that will do this for you, but one will only customize your frame and the other offers one frame choice and both are comparably quite expensive. Vantage Tennis will break this paradigm, and should bring quite a stir to the racquet industry. You will see them at www.vantagetennis.com.
So that's my wish list for Santa and possibly my last column in 2004. Once again, I want to thank all of the thousands of you who read my column, who send me your opinions and advice, and who come back and visit this website all year through. I also want to wish you all the brightest of holiday seasons and that all your tennis wishes come true. Oh, and if you talk to Santa, let him know that I'm still looking for my perfect mixed doubles partner...
December 9, 2004
Diana:
I wouldn’t say that Marat Safin is the greatest tennis player of all time, but he would have to be one of the most interesting, behaving himself or not. I do hope he manages to control his temper - he should have been hauled off the court and soundly smacked when he was a kid because that is when they learn to get away with it. When he behaves he could actually beat Federer I think. In appearance he reminds me of my son, so that is a good reason to have a soft spot for him!