| Versatility Versus | |
Dateline: 10/28/98
Looking back through the thirty-year history of the Open Era, what we remember most are the great rivalries, such as Borg versus McEnroe and Evert versus Navritilova. Compelling drama has grown from these rivalries, but it has always, until now, lacked one type of character, the complete player.
On the men's tour, the first complete player of the Open Era was Rod Laver. In 1969, Laver gave the new open rules quick affirmation by repeating his Grand Slam. For the next twenty-four years, none of the great players had a comparably versatile game, with mastery of every type of shot from all parts of the court. In 1993, when Pete Sampras reached number one in the world, he followed in the footsteps of his idol, Laver, by dominating tennis with the most complete game on the tour. Laver, in his prime, and Sampras, until this year, were so much more versatile than their opponents, they had no real rivals.
On the women's tour, the greats of the past have all been either serve-and-volley specialists like Navratilova and King or baseliners like Evert and Graf. Only in the last three years, with the emergence of Martina Hingis, has a complete player stood in the women's tennis spotlight. Until this year though, Hingis, like Sampras and Laver, had been too dominant to have a serious rival.
It may be just coincidence, or it may be that tennis has made a real leap in its evolution, but on both the women's and men's tours, 1998 became the year in which the two most complete players, each tour's dominant number one, found themselves seriously challenged by competitors who are themselves evolving more complete games.
Some would argue that the rivalry at the top of men's tennis will be short-lived, and that nothing but a brief Sampras slump has created a real race for the number one ranking. On the other hand, Patrick Rafter may be the one player with greater natural athleticism than Sampras, and Rafter's serve-and-volley skills become increasingly formidable as he continues to improve the rest of his game, especially return of serve. Marcelo Rios, whose quickness and creative groundstrokes give him a distinct edge on clay, might also hope to recapture the top ranking he enjoyed for a few weeks earlier this year, if he can strengthen his mental skills.
On the women's side, the race for number one is even more interesting, with a whole new kind of rivalry taking shape, power versus versatility. Lindsay Davenport has just taken over the number one ranking from Hingis, who reigned for eighty weeks. Hingis owns every shot in the game, but at 5'7", she can't deliver them with the crushing velocity produced by the 6'3" Davenport. Davenport's win in their most recent encounter, the US Open final, has spurred Hingis to try to develop more power, but Davenport's hard work on rounding out her game will continue to augment her size advantage. Davenport and Hingis both have their eyes on Venus Williams, whose explosive power is becoming part of what may be, within a year or less, the most complete and unstoppable game in women's tennis.
