Not Bad for Two Weeks' Work

It's been a pleasant couple days for Venus Williams.

She began her post-Australian run by defending titles in both Dubai and Acapulco and then returning to New York in an attempt to improve her runner-up showing at last year's Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup.

This was the second year Madison Square Garden hosted the exhibition, featuring four of the best female athletes in the sport -- seven-time Major winner Williams, reigning French Open champ and world #3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, last year's comeback queen Kim Clijsters, and '08 Roland Garros titlist Ana Ivanovic, a replacement for the younger Williams who withdrew with a leg injury.



This was the second tournament I've had the chance to watch at the Garden, and I can honestly say that this city really does bring the best out of these players -- I was immediately amazed by the quality of tennis last night.

Ivanovic, who hasn't been a major force in the sport for quite some time, kicked the night off against Clijsters by breaking the former #1 in her first service game. She even held match point before being forced to a tiebreak, and though she struggled on serve, she certainly showed more than glimpses of the champion she once was. Even still Kim ran away quickly with the decider -- after a much more competitive set than I would have thought -- gaining the first entry to the final.

The next match-up featured Kuznetsova and Williams, a pair who'd split their last eight meetings. Here again the ladies traded breaks to start, but for the next several games both Svets and Venus displayed the kind of tennis that champions are made of -- phenomenal rallies, awesome court coverage and bullet-fast shots that sent the crowd to their feet more than a few times. Ultimately, with a double fault by the Russian that didn't do the set justice, Venus advanced to set up her twelfth career match against Kim.

The final was played in a traditional, best-of-three format and, if I hadn't known better, I'd never have guessed this was "just" an exhibition. Venus got off to a quick start, breaking early in the first and never looking back. She seemed to get in a little trouble with the net, though, and some brilliant shot-making from Kim evened things up in the second.

It looked like momentum had shifted to the Belgian, but the New York fans got behind their girl. With Clijsters leading 4-2, Williams pulled even and had a chance to break for the tournament. Finally after three hard-fought sets, Venus captured the Billie Jean King Cup, her third trophy in as many weeks.



From start to finish it was a tournament that lived up to the hype -- the crowd, the players, everyone got into the matches and was rooting boisterously for their favorite. And other than seeing Venus eventually take the title, there was a lot to be proud of -- I was impressed by Ivanovic's ability to stick it to her opponent again, I was heartened by the quality of points and that no return was allowed to go unpunished. And I was thrilled to see championship tennis back in Manhattan.

In the meantime, Venus goes home with another trophy, silencing critics -- including myself -- who'd thought she may have passed her prime. But now securely back in the top five, she's a legitimate threat at any tournament, which bodes well going into the spring season.

And if last night's matches are any indication, any one of these ladies could give her another challenge as well!

The Ultimate Showdown

A year ago I had the extreme pleasure of watching the two greatest tennis players of all-time going at it in Madison Square Garden. It was a battle for tennis history, so the program read -- then-#1 Roger Federer versus the record holder for, well, everything, Pete Sampras.



At the time I thought Sampras's dominance would soon end -- Roger had only two more titles before he tied Pete for career Grand Slams and, at twenty-six, he still looked to be on top of his game. Pete had been a year older when he won Major No. 12, and it took four years more before he would sit staunchly atop the leaderboard with fourteen titles. It seemed clear that Federer was destined to tie Sampras by the end of the year, and to pass him before he turned thirty.

Pete and Roger had met only once in their professional careers -- they've played a handful of exhibition matches around the world in recent years -- at Wimbledon in 2001, where Sampras was vying for his eighth (yet another record-breaking) championship.

The match was full of the drama you'd now expect, knowing that these two men would eventually be the legends they are today. It was the round of sixteen -- Pete was ranked #6 at the time, Roger #15. After more than three and a half hours, five sets, two tiebreaks, and 370 total points, Federer was the one advancing to the quarterfinals, and on his road to becoming a star. Sadly, he lost in the next round to Tim Henman.



Last year's match at MSG was similarly exciting. Roger won the first set 6-3, but Pete came back in the second set tiebreak to level the contest. He was even up a break in the third, causing fans to hold out hope for the "upset", before Roger took home the crown.



What was most impressive, in my view as a devoted Sampras fan, was Pete's still-dominant serve -- at thirty-seven, he still was able to deliver the shot that earned him the nickname "Pistol Pete". And, more amusingly, he'd become something of a showman in his retirement -- never one for dramatics on court, he accepted both victory and defeat more graciously than opponents like Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and others. But in New York last year, he jokingly slammed his racquet to the ground as a forehand whizzed by him and picked a fight with the chair umpire when a call went in favor of Federer.

Always a fan favorite, Sampras was now an entertainer.

Over just the last year the landscape of tennis has changed a bit. Roger is still a real power, of course, but now Rafael Nadal is clearly the man to beat -- and I would love to watch the first match-up between those two powerhouses. Happily for me -- and Pete, certainly -- it looks like the current records may be in place for a little while longer than we originally thought. It's still just a matter of time before someone -- Roger, maybe soon, or even Rafa in a few years -- wins his fifteenth Slam and becomes the new king of tennis.

Until then, though, I will continue to cheer for my Pistol Pete.

Where the Stars Come Out to Play

It's been almost nine years since the women's year-end championships have been played in Madison Square Garden, but tonight four of the sport's top athletes met in the great arena on 34th Street in New York for Tennis Night in America.

BNP Paribas sponsored the showdown between the winners of the last four majors, Serena and Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic, and the player that ended last year with the #1 ranking, Jelena Jankovic. The winner would receive the vaunted Billie Jean King Cup as well as $400K in prize money -- more than Venus won in Dubai last month.



The semifinals were one-set, no-ad matches and pitted Venus against Jelena and Serena against Ana -- obviously the intent was to give the New York crowd an all-Williams final.

And that's exactly what we got.

Jelena, who actually holds a winning record over Venus, held her own for most of the match, even tried to engage the crowd and joke about challenges with the chair umpire -- but ultimately she was unspectacular and fell 4-6 in the end. And Ana, despite a handful of break chances, could not convert and eventually was defeated 3-6.

The final, played with traditional scoring in a best-of-three set format, was one we've seen a dozen times before -- actually nineteen times. And, somewhat surprisingly, Venus held a 10-9 record against her sister, most recently winning in Dubai a week and a half ago. Arguably, the Williams have had the most successful years on tour, with the younger sister winning her fourth Australian Open and the elder claiming two titles in the last two weeks.

You knew they'd be playing as though a Grand Slam title were on the line.



The match started off somewhat sloppily -- both women sliced a few backhands and shanked a few volleys as they tried to get a handle on the court. It wasn't until halfway through the first set, after trading breaks, that either hit their stride. After a twenty-four point ninth game -- and the disappearance of a line umpire -- Serena finally took the early lead, 6-4. She won the second set, 6-3.

The tournament was certainly entertaining, an exhibition in every sense, but the event was as much a celebration of the venue, the city and female athletes as it was of the score. MSG hasn't been a regular on the tour since 2000 and with this event, after last year's Roger Federer-Pete Sampras match, it could be making a case for a return to the circuit. And by bringing the sport's top athletes to such a central location in Manhattan, it not only raises the players' profile, but that of tennis.

And, for me, it's finally a home court I can finally cheer for!