Tennis mailbag, with CNN's Candy Reid
(CNN) -- Do you have a question about tennis for World Sport Anchor Candy Reid? E-mail candy@cnn.com.
Q. Great piece of work you have here. I've always been a fan of "ultra-nice" Lindsay Davenport and is my favourite since the retirement of Steffi Graf. However time and again she manages to irritate me by being, well, simply clumsy looking and sluggish during matches. She was up to it again during the entire 'grind' at Roland Garros until Pierce put her, and me, out of her misery. I can only imagine what she might have achieved had she been a little more mobile. Surely she must be one of the all time great hitters of a tennis ball -- timing wise when she gets in to position. Candy my question is this -- in the Open era has there been more sluggish looking movers among the top ranked players other than Lindsay and maybe Betty Stove?
Best regards, Roshan Fernando
A. It's hard to see how Lindsay reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. I think she was rather surprised too, especially since she'd been holidaying in Mexico the week before the tournament started! She's never been the most athletic tennis player, and she'd be the first to admit that; but she more than makes up for her lack of mobility with the rest of her game. As you say, she's probably one of the best "hitters" of the ball in the women's game, if not the best. As for your question -- well I can't think of a top player (past or present) who is slower than Davenport, but then I can't think of anyone who is as tall as her either (she's 6'2 ½" according to the WTA media guide.)
Let's throw this open and get the readers opinion -- email in with your thoughts on this one!
Q. Hi Candy. Just wondering: With Americans and other foreigners going to Japan to extend their careers and experience different playing experiences in baseball and North American golfers playing on the Asian tour, do you think an American player will ever go to Europe to master the clay surface and actually win a tournament like the French Open ?
Best, Vince from Vancouver
A. There's no doubt that an American will win the French Open again. Don't forget that Serena Williams conquered the Paris clay just three years ago. On the men's side, however, players from Spain and Argentina are dominating at the moment and that will continue for the foreseeable future. These guys grow up on the dirt and know exactly what it takes to be successful on it; whereas someone like Andy Roddick clearly isn't that comfortable on the red stuff. Put him on hard-court or grass though and it's a different story.
The only way to get better on clay is to play on it and perhaps that's why the youngsters are heading to Spain rather than America at the moment to learn their trade.
Q. Hello Candy. Whatever is happening to American Tennis? With ageing Lindsay and Andre, Andy not living up to the hype and the William sisters far too distracted, I really do not see any replacements in sight when this lot hang up the boot. Do you have any idea why such a big sport in country should be in such a humiliating position? The people who should care do not seem interested ... can you throw more light on this state of affairs?
Cheers, Gizo.
A. American tennis will rise again Gizo -- however if you think about it -- things aren't bad at the moment. Lindsay is still the top ranked women, Serena is number 4, and Andy is the men's world number 4. Many other countries would love to be in that position!
Okay, this is probably Andre's last year, and if Lindsay keeps going until 2007 I'd be surprised, but there are plenty of American youngsters to fill their shoes when the time comes. For instance, Jessica Kirkland was the top seed for the French Open Juniors and is already inside the top 200 on the WTA Tour, while Donald Young is the top rated boy and won the Australian Open Juniors in January.
As for your other question, well I've met the Williams sisters a couple of times before and they've always seemed very nice, but they're not as good with the media as someone like Roger Federer, which is why you'll never hear a bad word against him. Since Venus and Serena have so much going on outside tennis, and have both suffered from injuries of late, you rarely see them at the same tournament any more. Add to that, the fact that neither is particularly dominant at the moment , and it means commentators are talking about them less. The Belgian duo are the ones in the headlines, because of their respective comebacks and subsequent successes (especially Henin-Hardenne.)
Q. Hello Candy, I enjoy your mailbag very much. Thanks. Has anybody asked (in English) wunderkind Raphael Nadal why he wears those "peddle-pusher" pants? They look pretty uncomfortable to me and I, personally, would never wear such clothes while playing.
Rama, Freiburg, Germany
A. Hello Rama! Glad you enjoy the mailbag. I don't think anyone has asked Nadal why he wears those three quarter length shorts (he calls them "Pirates") in English but they have in Spanish, and many times. He says they're comfortable and he likes wearing them (they certainly don't seem to do his tennis any harm) -- however, he probably won't be allowed to wear them at Wimbledon because of the strict dress-code!
Q. Hi Candy. How often does it happen in professional tennis that a player wins more games but still loses the match? Such as a score of 0-6 7-6 7-6? I have never seen it happen myself, but I've only been a tennis fan for about a year.
Thanks, Lenore Appelhans, Frankfurt, Germany
A. It happens more than you think Lenore -- and more in the men's game than the women's because of the serve. As Jimmy Connors once said, tennis at the top level is 90 percent mental -- and he's right. Tennis matches often come down to one or two points. So a player can often win more points but lose the match because they've lost the crucial points. It will happen a few times at Wimbledon I'm sure -- so keep you're eye out. You can usually get the statistics, including points won, by logging on to the official Web site.
