Money kills magic
All’s not fair in love and tennis, says Emma Keeling
For those of you thinking life will be fair in 2019, please head to the scales for a Christmas holiday reality check. We like to think life will be kind and, when it comes to sport, many will hang all their hopes on, well hope. But now and then we get a figurative racquet to the head and remember playing fair is more about dollars than sense.
Unless you were cut off from the world on a remote beach this week, you would’ve heard about when Roger met Serena. Federer said playing mixed doubles against Williams was ‘‘a pleasure and an honour’’. To have two of the great men’s and women’s tennis icons meet in competition is rare, but it was made possible at the Hopman Cup in Perth. So in timing not seen since Carlos Spencer’s intercept pass at the 2003 World Cup, it’s no surprise officials are considering axing the event.
To quote a meltdown specialist, you cannot be serious! To be fair to Tennis Australia, before the two superstars and their compatriots swung it out, many may have questioned who really cared if the tournament retired to the dressing room? The demise of the 30-year-old event is still not confirmed, but is likely so that funding can be diverted to the new ATP World Team Cup featuring increased prizemoney and ranking points. Sounds amazing, but only if you are male because women aren’t invited.
So far this minor detail has been a last line in many of the articles I’ve read on this decision. Williams is the only woman, once again, capable of dragging this feminine fact up into the rarefied air that star male athletes float about in – also known as the opening paragraph. Now tennis scribes are asking if we really want to kill off an event that can provide such a historic moment?
Put another way, do we really need another men’s team event? Nothing against the boys, but life is more interesting when you get unexpected match-ups. When have you heard Federer talking about being ‘‘nervous’’ returning a serve? And if you think he was taking his nice guy status to another level, the commentator said Serena clocked up the fastest serve at 194km/h. Williams’ called it ‘‘the match of my career’’.
Both players can be guarded in interviews but together, after the match in which the Swiss team defeated the Americans, the stars were like a couple of love-struck tennis geeks. Volleying compliments back and forth.
But hey, let’s not get all mushy and gushy about this. It’s professional sport and there’s no room for magic moments when only the best will do. We just want serious guys smashing each other with huge serves. Uniqueness is best left to the amateur ranks or exhibition matches.
Let’s face it, the Hopman Cup will need a belated Christmas miracle or maybe, in a final desperate move, advocates could just stir up the tennis bores?
As Billie Jean King found out in her battle of the sexes match against Bobby Riggs, the desire to teach female players a lesson about who is the best has never died. John McEnroe is constantly asked to challenge Serena and I’m sure there was a fervent group hoping Federer would teach Williams to respect her betters.
I’m under no illusion money will beat out the Hopman Cup, with officials officially citing the survival of the sport and the athletes’ wellbeing as the reason for their final decision.
I just hope that in the coming battles between money and sport, sporting spectacles win a few. You can’t say fairer than that.
The Hopman Cup will need a belated Christmas miracle . . .