by John Branston
ichael
Chang is a great tennis player. Also a good sport. A real hustler, too.
And let's not forget to add gracious guest, evangelical Christian, and,
after last Sunday, champion of the Kroger St. Jude tennis tournament.
So what's not to like?
Well, Chang is just a little bit, uh, boring.
And
when he's paired against another stoic nice guy such as Australian Todd
Woodbridge, as he was in Sunday's final, the result is a match featuring
all the skills and none of the sizzle that make spectator sports interesting.
In short, the tennis was fine, but the most colorful thing about last week's tournament was New Zealander Brett "Chiquita" Steven's banana-hued shoes and matching shirt.
The proceedings left more than a few veteran fans talking nostalgically about a Memphis champion of the 1980s, Jimmy Connors. Like Chang, Connors was mainly a baseliner and counter-puncher who regularly beat bigger, stronger players. But Connors is remembered as much for his fist-pumping, linesman-baiting, finger-wagging, "play my guts out" antics as he is for his championships.
Connors, like John McEnroe and Andre Agassi, could be a jerk. But nobody ever said fans won't identify with or be interested in hero/villains who also play like champions.
Chang's 6-3, 6-4 dismantling of Woodbridge was methodical. The Aussie, who is half of the world's top-ranked doubles team, appeared tired from a week in which he made it to the singles final and the doubles semifinal. Chang, on the other hand, played only singles, as is his habit. Using his extra-long racquet, he was able to produce accurate first serves in the 120-mile-an-hour range when he needed them, notably on the last two points of the match. Woodbridge rarely got such easy points.
If either player muttered more than a couple of yelps, I didn't hear it. Woodbridge protested one call that went against him and sportingly overruled a linesman on a bad second-serve call that went against Chang. Chang's only evident show of emotion was a couple of hard stares directed at linesmen.
In victory, Chang recalled making his professional debut in Memphis 10 years ago when he was 16 years old and "only about this tall," holding his hand about 5 feet off the court. He has added more girth than height since then, but everyone laughed anyway.
The Racquet Club's Stadium Court was pretty much full for Sunday's final, which it definitely was not for the well-publicized return to Memphis of former crowd-pleaser Andre Agassi. For the second year in a row, Agassi lost in the first round, raising doubts about both the sharpness of his game and his star appeal. Without his long locks and famous forehand, he could easily have passed for just another qualifier.
The tournament's unofficial charisma award goes to doubles specialist Luke Jensen, who emotes on court, dresses cool, and signs every autograph request. Unfortunately, he didn't win a match here.
Jimbo, we miss you.
Jeff Walker, former coach of the defunct Memphis Fire in the United States Basketball League (USBL), is now director of basketball operations for a new summer pro league called Full Court America. The league hopes to begin play in the summer of 1998, with teams in 10 to 15 cities.
Walker says the new league will differ from the
USBL in three key areas: It will have double the salary cap of the USBL,
teams will operate year-round offices, and the league will only play in
arenas, no high-school gyms allowed. Full Court America, headquartered in
Sarasota, Florida, will play with a red-white-and-blue ball reminiscent
of the old ABA. Memphis is not a candidate for the new league, Walker says,
although Jackson, Mississippi, Little Rock, and even Pine Bluff may be considered.
"In Memphis, if it's not the NBA, it isn't going to happen," Walker
says. -- Dennis Freeland