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CAPRIATI
GETS THE NOD
Being
No. 1 no longer equals ITF World Champion status
By
Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net
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Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
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It
has long been ITF policy to name the players from both tours that
conclude the year as world No. 1 to the status of ITF World Champions,
honoring the victors at a spectacular black-tie gala during Roland
Garros. Nevertheless, when the ITF announced their 2001 champions
a couple of weeks ago, they stayed on form by picking world No.
1 Lleyton Hewitt as the men’s champion, but bypassed year-ending
world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport on the women’s side in favor
of No. 2 Jennifer Capriati.
It’s
hard to argue with the choice of the 25-year-old Capriati –
she completed a remarkable career comeback this season by winning
her first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian and French Opens,
and then briefly sat atop the world in the No. 1 spot for the
first time in her career this fall before Davenport claimed the
throne.
Tony Godsick, the IMG agent of record for Davenport, is of the
opinion his client would have no objections to being passed up
in favor of Capriati for 2001 ITF World Champion status. While
Davenport remained a model of consistency in her performances
this year, and had her usual terrific run in the indoor events
this fall, she brought home no Grand Slam trophies for the season.
“I
haven’t talked to Lindsay about it, but she was the one who
said she didn’t deserve to end the year No. 1,” said
Godsick, chatting during the junior Sunshine/Connolly Cup events
at Key Biscayne last week. “The top stars tend to judge their
years by winning Grand Slam titles and Lindsay didn’t win
one. Venus had a great year winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open
again, and Jennifer had a great year, and Lindsay was the most
consistent. In a perfect world, we’d judge the players on
their performance all year round. The one thing I think is really
good is that women’s tennis is so competitive these days
and will continue to generate excitement.”
Knowing
Davenport, it’s hard to disagree with Godsick’s assessment
on the situation. But what one is truly wondering about is what
Venus Williams is thinking about all this.
CAPRIATI
GETS EDGE FOR ’01
In
truth, if you were going to pick between Venus and Jennifer as
the top player for 2001, Jennifer would have the slight edge.
While Venus did successfully defend her Wimbledon and U.S. Open
crowns, she still has yet to touch world No. 1 status despite
arguably being the best player on tour. What hurts Venus in the
quest for No. 1 is two things – she doesn’t play enough
events to bring her ranking to the top and she only turns on the
Venus magic when a tournament captures her imagination enough
to want the trophy.
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Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
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What
Venus could be upset about is last year – despite having
no competition for the claim, she didn’t take away the ITF
World Champion honors in 2000. She won Wimbledon and the U.S.
Open and topped that feat with a 35-match winning streak, which
added up to six consecutive titles before falling to Davenport
in the Linz final in October. And as a weighty bonus, Venus was
both the singles and doubles (with sister Serena) gold medallist
at the Sydney Olympic games.
But when the 2000 World Champions were named, the ITF chose the
more consistent but Grand Slamless Hingis as their honoree. When
questioned about the decision, the reasoning given was that the
player standing as world No. 1 at the end of the season was routinely
according the privilege and that was Hingis. Hopefully, the selection
of Capriati this year means that the ITF has re-evaluated that
policy for the future and has decided to take into account that
the best player of the year does not always end the season in
the rankings top spot.
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