Monday, April 26, 2004 FED CUP 2004 Venusian Vitality Once More Among Healthy Vital Signs and a Fans' Road Map Venus back in the winner's circle. Hello again, Miss Williams. She was among the feel-good happenings of recent days on the American tennis scene. Most of them occurred beyond the court, in such locales as New York, Key Biscayne, Fla., and Philadelphia - happy tidings for those who love the game and want to see it flourish. But it was Venus - the name everybody knows - that stood out as she broke a 14 months dry spell with a champagne-warranting victory at the Family Circle Cup at Charleston, S.C., and then became the leading lady for the United States in another seaside town, Portoroz, Slovenia. Is this the re-flowering of Venus, who has been groping in the shadow of Serena and injuries, her confidence obviously wobbly? I sure hope so. It has been painful to watch such a splendid young performer struggling to find her lost self. These are hard times in the women's precinct, various ailments benching the point women: Serena, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, as well as Monica Seles, and slowing Jennifer Capriati. But Venus has come through - and on clay, yet! - in beating dirtkicking maven Conchita Martinez at Charleston when a bright victory was really needed as a psyche-pumper. Six days later, as Zina Garrison made her debut as Federation Cup captain (succeeding Billie Jean King), Venus was the zinger for Z. with a pair of straight set singles wins over Katarina Srebotnik and Tina Pisnik as the U.S. brushed aside the Slovenians, 4-1, on even more sluggish clay: the crimson, European stuff. Finishing touches in the doubles were supplied by "Granny" -- 47-year-old Martina Navratilova -- and Lisa Raymond over Tina Krizan and Srebotnik. That sends the U.S. into the quarter-finals at Austria, July 10-11. For Martina, having played on six U.S. teams and one Czech, perfection continues. She is 40-0 - 20-0 in singles and doubles. Her wish: an Olympic berth for herself and Raymond and another Federation Cup, her fourth. Also success for Arlen Kantarian's road map - "One of the best ideas to come along." In his fourth season as the U.S. Tennis Association's chief executive for pro tennis, Kantarian was in New York unfolding a map that took more than two years to design, pull together - and, more importantly, sell. Called the U.S. Open Series, it ought to qualify Arlen for a diplomatic grand slam in this historically Balkanized sport. Follow the yellow fuzzy ball on the route to Flushing Meadow and the U.S. Open with your own eyes. That's the invitation to Americans, who have long been confused about when, where and what of tennis they could find on their TV screens. Frustrated tennis loyalists haven't been able to logically pursue the game's progression across the summer to the year's last major championship. Not until now, but the game takes a right turn onto an unprecedented television highway to the Open, the last of the year's majors, Aug. 30 - Sept. 12. Moving through California, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Washington, DC and Canada, TV coverage of six weekends will provide 100 hours live of Saturday-Sunday double headers involving both the ATP and WTA Tours and four networks: ESPN with the largest share, CBS, NBC, Fox. In addition the Tennis Channel will handle some weekday rounds. CBS and USA will follow up with 140 hours at Flushing. Two weeks after Wimbledon the video parade begins on the West Coast: July 17-18, ATP Los Angeles, WTA Stanford; July 24-25, ATP Indianapolis, WTA Los Angeles; July 31-Aug. 1, ATP Toronto, WTA LaCosta; Aug. 7-8, ATP Cincinnati, WTA Montreal; Aug. 21-22, ATP Washington, DC; Aug. 28-29, ATP Long Island, WTA New Haven. It isn't quite an original concept. Many of you may recall how PBS tuned the country into tennis during the 1970s with the purest ever tournament coverage - Monday night finals climaxing three-day, commercials-free, complete singles and doubles broadcasts. Those PBS shows, arranged by Washington agent Donald Dell, produced by Greg Harney of Boston station WGBH, and focusing principally on the men, introduced the American public to such as Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Harold Solomon, Eddie Dibbs, Wojtek Fibak, Brian Gottfried, Ilie Nastase, Raul Ramirez, Vitas Gerulaitis. Soulful, poetic Vilas, the Young Bull of the Pampas, won many hearts as well as titles while bursting onto the scene in 1974. Nevertheless, Kantarian, prowling the fiefdoms and self-interest centers of the game, did a masterly job in peddling unity, convincing and gaining the cooperation of the ATP, WTA, USTA, the networks and sponsors in order to assemble the Series package. At Key Biscayne were declarations of two initiatives springing forth that may not be as catchy as the pro circuits - but might eventually be of even greater significance in the game's invaluable missionary work. That's the spreading of the gospel of tennis. Encouraging and helping people to play, particularly kids. is the goal of both organizations, Tennis Welcome Centers and First Serve. A nation-wide ad campaign enlisting the faces and talents of "60 Minutes" star Mike Wallace, actress Daisy Fuentes, champs of boxing Roy Jones and auto racing Jeff Gordon is a collaboration of the TIA (Tennis Industry Association) and the USTA. The theme, "Tennis comes out swinging!" publicizes a network of 3300 Tennis Welcome Centers that offer "Learn to play tennis...fast" with professional teachers at modest cost. Alan Schwartz, president of the USTA, enthuses, "For the first time the entire tennis community is joining together to leverage its assets and grow the game. Our mission is to have 30 million players in the U.S. by 2010." The Buchholz family of Miami was the first to get behind First Serve. Their involvement means that no effort or imagination will be spared in bringing the game to places where kids need it the most, where tennis can be a gateway to a better, more productive life for youngsters in difficult situations. Butch Buchholz and his brother, Cliff, founded the Nasdaq-100 Open at Key Biscayne, building it from nowhere to one of the world's best in 20 years. Now Butch's son, Trey, heads First Serve, an operation, he says, in "global child development. We call it real life power on and off the court that blends tennis with educational programs and life skills." Among FS's allies are the USTA, ATP, WTA, International Tennis Hall of Fame, PTR and USPTA. "Our programming will eventually be made available throughout the world," Trey says, "as we develop an international brand that drives resources to individual programs, but enables them to maintain local control." Associated with FS is the highly successful Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis Center in Philadelphia, a prototype for an inner city curriculum of tennis and study. Soon ground will be broken for a new $10 million Ashe Center in that city's Fairmont Park. All fine vital signs for the game's health. <<<Back