Is It Too Late For a John McEnroe Comeback?

The first major tennis tournament of 2011 is underway, The Australian Open. At left is player Alicia Molik and 1989 and 1990 Australian Open Champion, Ivan Lendl, who assisted a few days ago with the tournament draw.
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We've bemoaned for a few years now the disastrous state of American men's tennis, and this year's Aussie Open is no exception to that sad state. Only eight American men are in this year's championship, and three of them have already exited in the first round, including the 18th Seed, Sam Querrey, and next generation hopefuls, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison. Perennial disappointments Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and John Isner are the best American hopes for a win left in the championship, and frankly, depending on one of those three for a major win is like hoping for Sarah Palin to win a Nobel Prize. It just ain't gonna happen.
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But despite the fact that American tennis is pathetic, and doesn't look like it's going to get any better anytime soon, we still have one of the greatest sports rivalries of all time to look forward to next week, a hopeful match-up between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And then, there's always the easy-on-the-eyes 31st Seed and part-time model, Feliciano Lopez, who's still in the tournament.

The Most Unpopular Win

In the 1970's, tennis in America reached its zenith of popularity thanks in part to the circus-like antics of stars John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, to the ground-breaking success of Billie Jean King and to the mega-watt star appeal of Chris Evert. But in the 1980's a new sheriff came to town, the Soviet bloc-born, robotic automatron that was Ivan Lendl. Lendl showed absolutely no emotion as he charged to 9 grand slam titles, including 8 straight U.S. Open finals, (winning three). Lendl was the complete antithesis of McEnroe and Connors in personality, and for that, and because he routinely defeated American heroes McEnroe and Connors, he was widely disliked.
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And then, in 1986, came a shocking declaration of that dislike. Sports Illustrated, one of the most respected chroniclers of American sport, published a cheap, snarky, even bitchy cover in which they publically announced their personal dislike for the tennis champion. There was a photo of Lendl, who had just won the U.S. Open, and instead of celebrating his win, the cover caption read "The Champion That Nobody Cares About". It was the junior high school equivalent of seventh grade cheerleaders taking bitchy swipes at each other. We lost a lot of respect for Sports Illustrated that week, and have never felt the same about the magazine since. To this day, Lendl, himself, refuses to grant interviews to the magazine.
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We couldn't help but be reminded of that infamous incident last week when Duke University narrowly defeated the upstart Butler University Bulldogs, by two points, to win the NCAA basketball championship. If there was ever a time in American sport when one could accurately say that no one cared about the winning champion or winning team, that statement would most definitely apply to this year's Duke win. Not that we dislike Duke, but Butler was the ultimate Cinderella of all time. A small school, (enrollment 4,200), completely unheard of by most Americans before the tournament, stormed through the championship, finding themselves in the final against perennial powerhouse, Duke. The entire nation was pulling for Butler, everyone wanted them to win and to cap one of the greatest underdog stories of all time. It was like a great, blockbuster Hollywood movie in which the hero would save the day in the final frame.
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Again, not that anyone hated Duke, we're sure that someone somewhere was cheering for Duke to win, but this game wasn't even really about who was playing, the game was more than that; it became a great, national, watercooler moment, an epic story of David and Goliath, and everyone wanted the little guy to win. No one wanted Duke to win. In fact, the next day almost every newspaper in America led with headlines about "Butler's Heartbreak" and "Butler's Disappointing Loss" instead of headlines celebrating Duke's win. Duke spoiled the story.
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(gordon hayward)
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Now all eyes are on 6'9" sophomore Gordon Hayward, the undisputed star of Butler's team and one of the best players in college basketball. If Hayward, a sexier Opie Taylor, avoids the NBA draft and returns for his junior year, many are already saying that Butler could be the pre-season #1. And hopefully, we could do this all over again.