Wishes for Martina

The big tennis news of today is Martin Navratilova's diagnosis with breast cancer, and I'd like to join the rest of the tennis world in expressing my well wishes - get well soon.

I don't think we can underestimate the influence Navratilova has had on the game. I don't know if anyone will ever break her record number of Slam titles and I doubt any other player will have the extraordinary longevity she has had. She is truly remarkable - anyone who watched the second Hit for Haiti will testify that she was pretty much the fiercest player on the court and she hit both Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport off it.

Her rivalry with Chris Evert is also one of the defining rivalries of the sport and one that will certainly be remembered for a long time. And even after her retirement from tennis, she has continued to be an important presence, someone whose opinion is respected and whose voice carries real weight. No matter how exclusive any nominated tennis hall of fame might be, Navratilova would be in there. No question.

So get well soon, Martina. If there is a tennis player in history who can be characterised as a fighter, it is you. Lay a smackdown on that disease. Tennis isn't done with you yet. The Martina story is not over.

A Time And A Place

So, um, that was awkward.

Don't get me wrong - I think Hit for Haiti is awesome. This one was definitely not the pure distilled radness that was the first one, but hey, it got it done. It made the big monies for charity and the crowd had fun times. And I think just about everyone reckons Navratilova, Graf and Davenport could make some pretty sweet comebacks. Navratilova especially. She has got it going on.

And then we had the dudes. And it started out well - I mean, hello, it had Tennis's Greatest Bromance out there with Roger and Rafa, and there's obviously bromances between Roger and Sampras and Agassi as well...

...but it is pretty obvious, no matter how many 'I love you, man's get thrown around, that there is some unfinished business between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. There is a whole lot of anger and bitterness and it's pretty clear that they just don't like each other much, end of story. Which is fine. They have every right not to like each other.

But Hit for Haiti was not the place to start making caustic remarks at each others' expense. It was pretty clear that Roger and Rafa found it really awkward, and the crowd found it awkward, and hell, everyone that watched it must have seen it was awkward.

The money still got raised and it's not going to make a difference in that sense, but dudes, time and a place. Hit for Haiti - not that place. I don't think it was ever going to be as awesome as the first one - you just couldn't fake that joyful spontaneity - but at least the players there just got into it and had a blast. Roger and Rafa kept those grins plastered on their faces throughout the whole Andre/Pete exchange, but there was no blast being had there.

C'mon, Pete. C'mon Andre. This is weird to say, considering the dudes you were playing with/against are younger than you, but grow up. Roger and Rafa are exemplary for the sport. Pete and Andre... great humanitarians, both of them, obviously... but this was not the right time for dirty laundry.