Wednesday, June 07, 2006
FRENCH OPEN NUTCASE ROUNDUP:
Exhibit A: Novak Djokovic. After failing to win a set or even complete three sets, he sits there in the press room and talks about how he played on equal terms with Nadal and how you don't have to do anything special to beat Nadal.
Exhibit B: John McEnroe. For a long time I bought the story about how he yelled at officials purely because he got frustrated that they couldn't do their jobs as well as he did this. The "Rage for Perfection," as Richard Evans titled his Mac bio. Now I learn that others were right: It was all about the gamesmanship. McEnroe admitted as much when he argued with Mary Carillo against using the new line-calling technology to achieve perfection in that area. Mac doesn't give a rat's ass whether the calls are right; he just wants to be able to argue the calls to throw off his opponent. I like the guy in a lot of ways, and he'd be on my short list for the dream dinner party, but he really does have a screw loose. Listen to his commentary and, amid some excellent insight well delivered, you'll hear how every innocuous detail is calculated to rattle the opponent. "Federer's wearing those white shorts again to get inside Nadal's head!"
Exhibit A: Novak Djokovic. After failing to win a set or even complete three sets, he sits there in the press room and talks about how he played on equal terms with Nadal and how you don't have to do anything special to beat Nadal.
Exhibit B: John McEnroe. For a long time I bought the story about how he yelled at officials purely because he got frustrated that they couldn't do their jobs as well as he did this. The "Rage for Perfection," as Richard Evans titled his Mac bio. Now I learn that others were right: It was all about the gamesmanship. McEnroe admitted as much when he argued with Mary Carillo against using the new line-calling technology to achieve perfection in that area. Mac doesn't give a rat's ass whether the calls are right; he just wants to be able to argue the calls to throw off his opponent. I like the guy in a lot of ways, and he'd be on my short list for the dream dinner party, but he really does have a screw loose. Listen to his commentary and, amid some excellent insight well delivered, you'll hear how every innocuous detail is calculated to rattle the opponent. "Federer's wearing those white shorts again to get inside Nadal's head!"
