Tennis mailbag, with CNN's Candy Reid
 Candy Reid (CNN) -- Do you have a question about tennis for World Sport Anchor Candy Reid? E-mail candy@cnn.com. Q. I have two quick questions. 1. When Federer and Nadal play (in Miami and the French Open), Federer has a tendency to hit the ball long an awful lot, what does Nadal do that forces such a consistent error? 2. What's with the rankings? Why, for example, is Nadal the second in the ATP race according to points, but the fourth seed in the French Open?
Susie, Omaha A. Nadal puts so much top-spin on his shots, making it hard for his opponent to control the ball. Even someone like Roger Federer, who has remarkable racquet control and timing, finds it difficult to get over the ball when he plays the young Spaniard. The obvious answer would be for Federer to get to the net as soon as possible when playing against heavy top-spin -- but this is easier said than done. The ball kicks up so high that it pins you back. You might notice that Nadal rarely hits the ball deep on clay, but the amount of spin he creates means his opponent cannot attack. As for your other question: the ATP race is from January to December. Roger Federer is number one after getting 710 points from 11 tournaments this year. Nadal is second with 665 points from 15 tournaments. The ATP Entry Rankings are based on a rolling year, with Federer leading ahead of Lleyton Hewitt and Nadal in third. If Federer, the defending champion, were to fail to win Wimbledon this year, he would lose points, while if Nadal does well, he will pick up points because he didn't play at SW19 last year. Q. I would like to know if there is an age restriction/requirement for women. There was the 15- year old, Sesil Karatantcheva, competing (rather well!) in the French Open. I thought that the women, at least, had to be 16 years old in order to compete on the WTA tour. I guess that I'm wrong, but what, if any, are the age restrictions?
Rama, Freiburg, Germany A. No-one under the age of 14 is allowed to play on the WTA tour or the ITF Women's Circuit. A player, between 14 and 15 years of age, is allowed to play in 7 tournaments, plus Fed Cup so Sesil Karatantcheva, who beat Venus Williams in the third round of the clay-court Grand Slam last month, can play all four majors and represent Bulgaria in the team competition. Next year she will be able to play in 9 tournaments, plus the Championship (if she qualifies) and Fed Cup. At 18, there are no restrictions. Q. Hi Candy. Who are your picks for Wimbledon this year? You think Mauresmo will go all the way for once. I hope she does. I think she must be the greatest tennis player not to win a Slam. Mind you, Kim Clijsters is beginning to fit into that category too, but at least she has time on her side. And what about poor old Tim Henman. It's got to be his last stab too. Don't you think?
Faeez Van Doorsen, South Africa A. I think all three players you just mentioned are capable of winning Wimbledon. Mauresmo and Clijsters have been due a Grand-Slam title for a while, and both have proved they can play on grass -- it's just a matter of having the right mental attitude and winning the big points when they come along. As for Henman, well I agree, it's probably his last realistic chance. (Click here for more on Henman's chances) You've got to feel a bit sorry for Henman. He might have won several Wimbledon's by now if it hadn't been for the great Pete Sampras and now Roger Federer -- we will never know! My picks for this year's Championship are Roger Federer and Justine Henin-Hardenne. Q. With all the players always complaining about fatigue, I think I have a solution. You take 2 tournaments that take place in consecutive weeks. Make them 5-set, 64, 96 or 128 player draws, alternate them in alternate years--much like the Masters Series Toronto/Montreal. Have a revenue sharing agreement between the tournaments. I think 5-set tennis is the most compelling in tennis, & I was utterly disappointed when they made the women's championship final only 3. But I suppose this would be plausible in men's tennis. But with fewer tournaments, perhaps more of the top players could convene at the same tournaments, and we would have good matches more often. This would also help the Davis Cup, which it seems is a perennially annual tournament, and it may not be so bad. Do you think this is a decent idea, or just a figment of my imagination, that deserves to stay there? Also, what are the odds of the Australian Open occurring in late February?
Thanks for listening, Raghavender Harnal In theory, your tournament idea, isn't a bad one -- but I doubt if it would ever be put into practice. For one, five sets for each match wouldn't really lessen player fatigue, even if there was an off-day between matches. Plus, the respective tours, prefer the four Grand-Slams to be different from the other tournaments in the fact that they are over two weeks rather than one. A player can avoid fatigue by competing in fewer tournaments each year. The top players can pick and choose which events they play in, and try to get the timing right, so they peak at the Grand-Slams. It's harder, of course, for the lower ranked players who need the money. But generally these players aren't reaching the finals every week -- so it's travel rather than tennis which is more tiring. The solution perhaps is a longer off-season. December is supposed to be the off-month, but with the Aussie Open coming in January, there's no way they can just take the month off and expect to be in top form for the year's first major. However, Aussie Open organizers are expected to push the tournament back a week in 2006 and maybe further back in 2007 and beyond. Q. Hi Candy. Talking about retired superstars (ref. Pete Sampras), it has been many years since I have heard anything about Jimmy Connors. Any news on him?
Thanks, Kostis, Athens, Greece Kostis, the Lawn Tennis Association are hopeful of getting Connors to help with British tennis -- nothing has been resolved as yet. He's also going to be commentating on this year's Wimbledon.
And finally, here are some of your responses to the Lindsay Davenport debate: Lindsay doesn't like slow red clay as it obviously nullifies her powerful serve and ground strokes. It's her movement, however, where she has the most trouble on clay because isn't sure of her footing and with a degenerating knee which she worries about on the surface she isn't confident moving on [in 2003 and 2004 she left Roland Garros with any injury]. Lindsay's movement is the best it's ever been and on grass and hard where she has a solid base to push off from, you'll see she moving the best she ever has in her career. She's a definite contender for Wimbledon.
Fraza Lindsay Davenport is the most sluggish tennis player I have ever seen. It seems too much for her, many times, to take more than two steps towards a ball. And every point seems like an effort for her. I no longer watch her matches, not when there is the excitement and energy generated by other players (and the men's game: Nadal, Federer, Coria... -- whew!). Her game is not the same game. Time to retire!
Rama, Freiburg, Germany While I don't totally disagree with what she said there are some things I have to dispute. I have followed Lindsay since 1994 and she has never been a great athlete but she is one of the cleanest hitters of the ball you are every likely to see and what she doesn't have in speed she makes up for with pure power and clay has never been her best surface as it is the one surface that slows her power right down and remember this three weeks before the French open she wasn't going to play at all and after last year's knee injury who could have blamed her.
Vicki Mainard
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