Tennis stars having a ball in T.O.
By GEORGE GROSS -- Toronto Sun
Life doesn't begin, or end with blackouts, regardless what politicians and would-be leaders will tell you. Most Torontonians coped admirably with the situation and a group of young visitors to our city have also found ways to cope with it.
For most of this past week, the long-legged Russian girls and the not so long-legged French Open champion from Belgium -- Justine Henin-Hardenne -- have been galvanized by the energy of the, at times, sparse crowd at the Rogers AT & T Cup at York University's Tennis Centre.
The tennis playing girls -- and I can refer to the 18 and 19 year olds as girls -- came to appreciate the power of the audience to lift and inspire them, except perhaps for Kim Clijsters, the world's No. 1 player. The pestiferous Toronto fan wave lifted the occasional sporadic achievement of some of the players and certainly inspired Argentina's Paola Suarez, who reached the singles semi-final of a major tournament for the first time in her career.
Away from the tennis courts, most of the players are having a ball in Toronto. Take for instance Clijsters, who was unceremoniously dumped by Russian teenager Lina Krasnoroutskaya.
Suspicious minds have suggested that Clijsters "tanked" the match, so she could join her boyfriend, Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who was ousted in the Cincinnati Open last week. Nothing could be further from the truth.
"Kim told me she liked Toronto very much and wants to stay here for an extra two or three days," said tournament director Stacey Allaster, who conceded that the blackout and the absence of the Williams sisters, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport may cost the organizers close to $1 million dollars in crowd revenue. "Kim gave me her cell phone in case we wanted her to perform some function on our behalf."
Clijsters decided to tour Toronto Island on Friday and some of Toronto's more interesting sites yesterday. The defeat of some players and the blackout were almost forgotten, even though the players slept at the Hilton in dark rooms Thursday night without the showers working. However, the hotel crew assisted them as much as they could.
Martina Navratilova, the 46-year-old tennis legend if there ever was one, was her usual charming self. Accompanied by her wee pet chihuahua Cloe, Martina demonstrated tennis lessons for $31,000 an hour -- for charity, of course -- and then gave some of the other girls a lesson on how to play top-class doubles.
Not far away from here was Sarah Varley, who is not a player. In fact, Ms. Vareley was a ball girl here way back in 1988. At this year's tournament she fills the position of quasi social convener for the players. And she's really enjoying it.
"Some of the girls are really lucky in draws," Sarah said. "We have different prizes for them to win and Russia's Nadia Petrova won a DVD, Paola Suarez a Hugo Boss MP3, (yesterday's) semi-finalists each received a jacket and every girl gets some jewellery every day. They just love the free stuff. Most of them are 18-19 years old, very well behaved and kids love receiving gifts."
Observing these young ladies from a distance, offers a very interesting picture. On the court, they can hit the ball a mile a minute. But off the court, they are just normal young women, who hang around with their families, or coaches.
For instance, the players' lounge reminds one of a high school cafeteria where cliques of students always sit together. The Russians, and there is nearly a dozen of them in the Toronto event, sit with Russians, the French with other French players and so on down the line.
To me, they're far more interesting to observe than the male racquet swingers, whether it's their performance on the court, fraternizing in the lounge, touring the city, enjoying the presents or giving lessons for charity. Indeed, the women of the Rogers AT &T Cup are doing just fine -- blackout, or not.
GROSSLY ABBREVIATED: It wouldn't surprise me if the cold war between Pat Quinn and the Maple Leafs management led to a parting of the ways which, of course, if it happened, would cost the Buds a cool $ 5 million ... Hockey legend Gordie Howe underwent heart surgery recently in Michigan. Doctors placed a stent into his chest to regulate the flow of blood to his ticker ... Another great star, former Maple Leafs centre Red Kelly, is recovering at home from major surgery. No visitors are allowed for the next couple of weeks, but that didn't stop his buddy Eddie Shack, another Leaf Stanley Cup ace. When Kelly's wife, Andra, former North American figure skating champion, wouldn't let Shack to see Red, Shack went outside the Kelly home and shouted from the street: "Hey, Red, I hope you'll feel better soon." Indeed, clear the track, here comes Shack.
