Wimbledon, Save Us!

Dull, ingenuous, mundane? Call this 2007 tennis season as you see fit, but you can't escape the "nothing original" theme.

During the first half of the season where everything has been "more of the same," a flip of a coin would have been more exciting than guessing the outcomes of tournaments and matches so far. The French even dared calling their own Roland Garros "morose" (same word in French, by the way), a term that could just as well be applied to the whole season so far.

Most people, including myself, were fooled into thinking that this could be one of the finest years of the open era. The elements were in place. On the men's side, you had the best rivalry brewing since Bjorn Borg vs. John McEnroe. The depth of the rankings on the women's side was unmatched in recent history. Television contracts assured that this was likely to be the most widely watched season around the world.

Unfortunately, reality has yet to live up to expectations. 2007 is slowly but surely turning into one of the most torpid seasons in memory. Seemingly, Roland Garros was a perfect fit to this season. As expected, Justine Henin won the women's draw. As expected, Rafael Nadal won the men's draw. As expected, the Americans continued their misery on the red clay court. From the French's side, Richard Gasquet's lack of mental toughness in big moments was confirmed, Amelie Mauresmo's restiveness under the "home-crowd pressure" was sealed and stamped, the decline of French tennis overall was obvious, all as expected, though not hoped.

Even the players' behaviors were exactly as expected. Usually a picture of equanimity, Roger Federer seemed once again lost against Nadal's ferocious topspin. He played the same way that he did the last two times in Paris, Nadal followed suit, and the score even turned out to be similar. Andy Roddick was once again laughing and having fun while winning for a set and a half, then once again looking like he did not care when losing.

On the women's side, Henin once again beat Serena Williams on clay. Once again, Serena could not acknowledge the opponent's superiority on that day. She said, "all she had to do was show up." Henin, as usual, did not care and simply said, "it's her opinion, I thought I just did good job," which was a polite way of saying "I kicked her butt." Ana Ivanovic defeating Maria Sharapova and reaching the finals was the main highlight of the women's event, but not enough to save the tournament because it ultimately resulted in an uncontested, brief final.

Behaviors, results were nothing new, all as expected...

Not unique to Roland Garros, this season lacks flavor all around. The only major highlight of the season so far has been Serena's impressive victory at the Australian Open. Honorable mention goes to Federer's improbable win on red clay over Nadal at Hamburg, despite his slump following the Australian Open, the worst since he became number one in the world in the beginning of 2004.

This season needs an exciting turnaround, a climactic final, an improbable rise to prominence from an unexpected player, before even the most zealous fans begin to lose interest. The good news is that this scenario is not brand new. The tennis fan can find solace in the fact that in 2001, we were in the same situation as now. Andre Agassi has repeated as the winner at the Australian Open, Gustavo Kuerten did the same at the French Open; no big upsets anywhere. The usual names were winning tournaments, except in Milan where a guy with a pony tail named Roger Federer won his first ATP title at the age of 20, but it did not attract much attention. Then, Wimbledon came to the rescue.

Entering only as a wildcard, the crowd-favorite Goran Ivanisevic, ranked outside the top 100, made a run that mesmerized not only tennis fans, but the whole world of sports. The atmosphere of the flag-filled stadium on the Monday of the finals was fantastic. Sunday tickets sold to corporations were cancelled and people formed ticket lines from the night before, sleeping overnight with their Croatian or Australian flags in support of Ivanisevic or his opponent in the finals, Patrick Rafter. Wimbledon has not seen that kind of electricity in the stands since the famous Borg/McEnroe final in 1980. The match lived up to expectations and Goran won 9-7 in the fifth.

The season all of a sudden took a dramatic turn; interest was back in the sport. Venus Williams emerged as the winner of the last two Slams, splitting the Slam titles with Capriati. Women came to the forefront in the tennis world with all the drama on and off the court. So much that a book entitled "Venus Envy" was written by Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim on the 2001 women's tour. Men did not slack far behind. Following the momentum of Wimbledon, Lleyton Hewitt won the U.S. Open by beating Pete Sampras in the finals, making it four different winners for the slams and showcasing a never-before-seen depth in the men's rankings.

The only difference between the two years is that at least in 2001, the women's side was exciting from the start with Jennifer Capriati's comeback in the first two Slams of the year. This season, both women and men are having a stagnant season. Yet, here we are again, one week away from the most revered tournament of the tennis world.

Wimbledon could be the last hope to save this season. Most casual fans have lost interest and "more of the same" could mean disaster for this season. Maybe an improbable player could make a run to the title. Maybe a British player could upset a big name following a dramatic five-set match, after saving seven match points. Maybe a full two weeks of Wimbledon with no rainfall? Okay, maybe not! A streaker during the trophy presentations? Definitely not! In any case, the need for a turnaround is urgent. The "who" or "what" factors are not important. What matters is "now!"