previous - next - Return to Articles - News main - Home source: unknown JOE POSNANSKI: Roddick could make tennis fun again By JOE POSNANSKI - Columnist Date: 07/12/01 22:59 Here's the trivia question of the day: Can you name the No. 1 men's tennis player in the world? That's OK, take your time. Use a lifeline. We'll get back to you in a little while. That used to mean something, you know. Used to mean a lot, actually, being the No. 1 tennis player on earth. Everybody knew him. It didn't matter if you were a tennis fan or not. He was on the cover of magazines. He did guest spots on Johnny Carson. He was a hero, like the President, like Elvis, like the heavyweight champion of the world (don't worry, we're not going to ask you to name HIM). The No. 1 tennis player was bigger than life. Rod Laver. Bjorn Borg. Jimmy Connors. John McEnroe. Now, he's... No, he's not Andre Agassi. Bring all this up because Thursday the best young men's tennis player in America was playing TeamTennis at Kemper Arena. We'll help you with this one. His name's Andy Roddick. He's 18 years old. He was born in Omaha, moved to Florida because it's the law for young tennis players, and he can hit a serve 140 mph, which is the tennis equivalent of a Tiger Woods drive. Pete Sampras says Roddick is the future of tennis. This is the guy who can make America care again. And no, Regis, the No. 1 player in the world is not Pete Sampras. Men's tennis has taken a terrible beating the last few years. The rackets are too powerful, the balls are too fast, and points are shorter than Kato Kaelin's acting career. Plus, on top of that, let's face it, way too many of the top players the last few years have been: 1. Boring. 2. Jerks. 3. Boring jerks. (No, Boris Becker is not No. 1. He's, like, retired.) Roddick gives American tennis fans hope. He has a lot of game, even beyond that amazing serve. But, more than that, he shows emotions. He plays with a little heart. He throws himself around the court. He actually laughs. Thursday, between games, in a Kansas City tradition, they brought down a whole bunch of kids on the court to dance to "YMCA" (which, apparently, they do not do at Wimbledon, at least when there's royalty in the box). Roddick showed some kids the subtle differences between the "M" and the "A." (No, it's not Lleyton Hewitt. Good guess though. He's ranked No. 4). Yes, you can tell a little something about someone when they're playing TeamTennis in Kansas City on a Thursday night in July with goofy sound effects playing between points in front of an announced crowd of 2,149 fans (many of them, apparently, spending the entire night in various bathrooms around Kemper). Roddick was supposed to be playing for the St. Louis Aces, but he did not wear an official uniform, which was probably a good thing because the Aces official uniforms were actually jersey tops from some local softball league. But even in that T-shirt with "Roddick," hastily sewn on the back, he showed off that serve, he signed all the autographs, he posed for pictures, he seemed to genuinely enjoy it all. At one point, he questioned an obviously horrible call, and the sound effects man played a baby crying (a little trick they obviously picked up at Roland Garros). At first, Roddick looked enraged. But then, he started to laugh. And everybody started to laugh. (No, it's not Ilie Nastase. You're getting colder). And that's what men's tennis needs. It needs someone at the top who can really play, but more than that, tennis needs someone with charisma, with a little style. Right after the baby-crying incident, Roddick went back to serve, and he unleashed his hardest serve of the night, an ace that went about 10 rows up into the crowd. Nobody knows exactly how fast that serve was -- apparently TeamTennis feels that money for a radar gun is better spent on sound effects -- but it's probably fair to say it was the fastest serve ever hit in Kemper Arena. Everybody in the place went silent. "Is it true you're just 18 years old?" a kid asked Roddick after the match. "Yeah," Roddick said. "Wow," the kid said. "I'm 12. I hope I can hit a serve like you." "Keep playing," Roddick said. And the kid smiled. He had a hero. Tennis sure needs one. By the way, the No. 1 tennis player in the world is Gustavo Kuerten, though that could change at any time. The heavyweight champion of the world is some guy named Rock or something like that. All content � 2001 The Kansas City Star previous - next - Return to Articles - News main - Home |