Is tennis too "nice?"

POSTED BY BESS: Last month, a friend of mine mentioned that John McEnroe had recently appeared on Alec Baldwin's podcast called Here's the Thing.  I'm not an Alec Baldwin fan, so perhaps that's why I totally forgot to listen. 

That is, until last week when tennis writer extraordinaire Jon Wertheim linked to the podcast on Twitter, calling it a "rollicking" interview. Wertheim clearly understands how social media works, because how can you resist a rollicking interview? The answer: You can't.

So I listened. If you haven't listened, it's a good interview. McEnroe is forthcoming, Baldwin asks good questions--interjecting at appropriate times to ask for clarification. Plus, he's a tennis fan, so he's informed and interested.

• The "juiciest" part: Likely McEnroe's take on Jimmy Conners, not exactly news, but he offered several stories I had never heard that backed up his dislike of the guy. Intrigue!
• The "things that make you go hmmm..." part: McEnroe saying American tennis is in a state of disarray with no good players in the top 20. Baldwin and I were both almost sputtering in tandem, "But what about Serena and Venus?" McEnroe, "Oh, I was talking about the men." But you weren't. You were talking about American tennis. And you leapt immediately and only to a discussion about the men. An interesting juxtaposition with the pride he conveyed later in the interview about tennis offering equal prize money. (I contend he was slower to come around to that idea than he claims, but not sure I have proof to back that up.)
• The most eye-brow raising part: When McEnroe refers to himself at some point in the past as the greatest player in the world, and then seems to backtrack immediately, saying (and I paraphrase) "I mean, that's what people were saying [pause], I was certainly one of the best..." Yikes. Revealing glimpse at the McEnroe ego?

But the part that stood out for me is when they were discussing how tennis seems to be losing popularity and what we might do to change that trend. McEnroe had several ideas, including that players should no longer warm each other up before matches. Really? That one tiny thing is going to make tennis more popular and mainstream?

McEnroe's theory is that warming each other up is too gentlemanly (or gentlewomanly). You have these two players who come out with blaring music, to cheering crowds, they're on opposite sides of the net bouncing around like prizefighters (referencing Nadal, no doubt), and then you take all the air out of the big build-up by having the players warm each other up--essentially helping each other out for 5-10 minutes. 

I also think McEnroe's take was that this is an unneeded time-suck, as well. Players have been warming up for hours, you're killing the momentum of them walking out and the crowd getting hyped up, etc.

I get it. But to me, eliminating the warm-up is not going to revolutionize tennis. In fact, I kind of like it. 

The "gentlemanly" spirit of the game is one of the most attractive things to me. 

• You come out from the same locker room--or at least the same tunnel. 
• You shake hands at net. 
• You warm each other up. 
• You apologize when you have to catch a toss while serving. 
• You apologize when you win a point due to the good graces of the net cord. 
• You might applaud a great shot by your opponent. 
• You shake hands with your opponent at the end. 
• You shake hands with the chair umpire. 
• And if you just played a final, even if you lose you stay on court. You give an interview, no less - the very concession-est of concession speeches--mere moments after heartbreak. And the standards for those interviews are high - you might need to speak another language; you undoubtedly need to be gracious; self-deprecation and humor score big points.

There's no other sport like it!

And that's one of the reasons, I'm more drawn to tennis than just about any other professional sport. 

There's a foundation of sportsmanship woven into the [Nike-logo-adorned] fabric of tennis. And it's juxtaposed against such incredible athleticism, brute force, artistic shot-making and amazing endurance. It's that fabulous contrast that makes tennis "sing" for me.

While it's no surprise that McEnroe, tennis's biggest "brat," would argue that the game is too gentlemanly, I, for one, disagree.

DAVE CHIMES IN: Yes. Yes. Yes! These are many of the same reasons I love tennis, too. The word "genteel" comes to mind when reading Bess' description. Then again, tennis can also be anything but genteel, at least when the ball is in motion. Where else is there a sport with such raw power and athleticism, coupled with traditional manners, basic decency, cherished protocol, storied tradition and mutual respect? Simple answer: There's not.

This gracious spirit is also why I get so upset when someone like Serena lashes out physically, verbally and emotionally at a line judge, shouting that she will "shove this #$*-ing ball down your throat." (If you're new to tennis, that was 2009, in a semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters that ultimately also cost Serena some $82,500 in fines.)

There's enough anger, egoism and disrespect in our world. Why I love tennis more and more, with each passing year, is that the sport is a haven from all of that madness. For a few hours, at least, two players compete aggressively, but do so civilly. (Well, at least they usually do.) Bravo to the great sportsmen and sportswomen of the ATP and WTA tours, respectively! If I were a parent, I would be more than proud to have my kids look to you as heroes and heroines.