Category: Tennis

“How can a dream come true if you don’t dream?”

Among all the sayings and mottos that I know, that’s one of my favorites. Isn’t it true? If you want something so bad, if you long to achieve that seemingly-impossible feat—how can you reach it if, to start with, you don’t dream?

Dreams are essential. Without dreams, Neil Armstrong wouldn’t have stepped on the moon. Lea Salonga would not be singing in Broadway. Bill Gates would be a bespectacled professor instead of the world’s only $59 billion man. And Martin Luther King, Jr. wouldn’t have ignited such passion among Americans and delivered one of history’s all-time great speeches, “I Have A Dream.”

My dreams? Plenty. Add a brother or sister to my eight-year-old daughter Jana. Build our business. Run the 42-km. marathon. Watch the Beijing Olympics. Build a 12-court Cebu Tennis Center.

These dreams—though I’m confident all will be realized—take time. Months. Maybe years. But there’s one dream that’s happening soon. To be exact, November 22, 2007.

Pete Sampras vs. Roger Federer.

He wore black. From his hair to his headband, to his shorts, T-shirt, wristbands, and down to his shoes and socks, he wore the only color your eyes can see when it’s brownout and your watch reads 1:38 a.m. As soon as he entered the Arthur Ashe Stadium, you know what music the organizers of the 2007 U.S. Open played?

The theme song of Darth Vader. How fitting. You know Darth Vader: He’s dark. Black. Towering. Tall. Frightening. Ruthless. He carries a stick to capture and torture and slay his enemies.

Same with D’ Federer. All-black, he stands 6-foot-1 tall, scares human beings who stand across the tennis net, he’s ruthless on that rectangle and, doesn’t he carry a light saber called Wilson K-Factor which he swings to slay enemies?

Darth Federer.

He’s been labeled many names before—Federer Express, Swiss Master, Sir Roger, The Fed—but nothing I like more than this new moniker.

She is short. In this planet inhabited by the 6-foot-2 Maria Sharapova, the 6-foot-1 ½ Venus Williams, and the 6-foot-1 starlet named Ana Ivanovic, she stands petite. She’s only 5-foot-5. To us Filipinos, that’s tall. But to women’s tennis, that’s small. Add to that her physique. She looks frail, thin, flat-chested and, even if she flexes hard those leg muscles, they’d still be thinner than Serena Williams’… arm!

She’s Justine Henin. Yet, if you watch her at 7 a.m. (RP time) today over cable TV channel 45, she’ll beat Svetlana Kuznetsova to win the 2007 U.S. Open.

How is this possible? Look at the women today. They’re all giants. Gone were the days of Billie Jean-King, who won a combined 39 Grand Slam titles—despite her 5’4” frame. Or Evonne Goolagong, the 5’6” Australian who moved with such grace and finesse that she looked like a ballerina wearing tennis shoes.

Today, tennis is all about five letters: P-O-W-E-R. Slam that forehand, rip that backhand, ace that serve, smother that volley. Bang, bang, bang. And, to those who’ve followed this sport for decades, you’ll have to agree with me on this: Height is might. And—just like in almost every other sport not named billiards or chess—the taller, the better.

She is a very close friend and tennis companion at the Casino Espanol de Cebu. Yesterday, I received this e-mail from Chu San Juan, the wife of my tennis buddy Jun San Juan.

“Hi John! I’m sending you greetings from the Mecca of tennis: the USTA National Tennis Centre in Flushing Meadows, New York.

“I had the opportunity to be at the Arthur Ashe Kid’s Day (Aug. 25) and saw some of my favorite stars. I had photos taken with Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Marion Bartoli and Patty Schnyder. In practice, I saw Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Carlos Moya, and Ai Sugiyama. Music sensations rocked the house that day; they included Domican Kat Delo, chart-topping musician Sean Kingston, rising hip-hop star Lil Mama and the talented trio, the Jonas Brothers.

“An exhibition match was played between Andy Roddick, Serena Williams and Roger Federer with a special guest appearance by Tony Hawk and Chris Kattan. I also just received a call from Msgr. Achilles Dakay who jetted in four days ago in New York. I’ll meet him at the Tennis Centre soon with Larry Chan, a tennis buddy, and Nonoy Laurente, who is based here in the U.S.”

With Patty Schnyder

With Marion Bartoli

I can’t believe there’s no U.S. Open TV coverage. For as far as I can recall—more than 12 years since cable TV was introduced to our living rooms—the U.S. Open has always enthralled our eyes.

Not this week. What happened? I don’t know. Must be the “M” word. No, not Maria Sharapova. Everybody wants to watch Maria. Must be about Money. And Millions. You know how TV networks haggle over money. And, if an event’s price is too exorbitant, then… no coverage. I just hope this coming week—starting with the quarterfinals onwards—we’ll get to see “live” forehands and smashes.

Who’s my bet? Who else but Sir Roger. On clay, there’s Rafa. But on grass and on hard-court, the no.1 is No.1. Can you believe Federer won his fifth straight Wimbledon last July and is gunning for four U.S. Open crowns in a row? Can you believe that if Federer wins in New York, he’ll snatch Grand Slam No.12—a feat that allows him to overtake his two heroes (with 11 apiece), Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg?

This Sunday, August 12, 2007, the father-and-son tandem of Jess and Jacob Lagman will fly to Seoul, Korea. Not to vacation. No, it’s the middle of school for the 12-year-old Jacob (above photo, at the center). They’ll be out for two weeks to join two major tennis events in the South Korean capital. Jacob, the country’s no.1 in the Boys 12, will carry the RP flag together with the RP Boys-10 no.1 player, Vince Marc Tabotabo. Good luck!

Jacob (right most) with his older brother Julius (left most)

At Wimbledon, Randy with you-know-who

RANDY AND CHRISTINE DEL VALLE spent 3 ½ weeks in Europe last June and July. Twice, they watched the world’s most revered tennis event, Wimbledon. Andy Roddick. James Blake. Venus Williams. They gazed at them. They ate strawberries and cream and sat on the All-England Club grass.

They saw Roger Federer! They did? Well, here’s the story: Among the hundreds of pros, Randy’s favorite is the Swiss. And on the two days that he and Christine watched Wimbledon, they longed to see his idol. But it wasn’t to be. He could not get tickets to the Centre Court.

“There was this booth near the bus stop leading to Wimbledon,” said Randy. “Dozens of people lined up and photos were taken. So, we were curious. When we drew near, we saw him… Federer!”

“But it wasn’t him,” said Randy, laughing. “It was a look-alike. He had a headband on, wore Nike, and looked just like Roger. All the TV cameras were pointing to him as he were the one. Plenty of people lined up for a photo-shoot with ‘Roger’… including me!”

My all-time favorite tennis star, Pete Sampras, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame yesterday. In my mind, Sampras was tennis’ Greatest Ever. (That is, until the Swiss master surpasses his 14 major titles and wins the French Open…) I got the chance to see Sampras in person during the 1999 U.S. Open. It was at the Arthur Ashe Fans’ Day, held two days before the event. Unfortunately, the day after, Sampras got injured during practice—and so I never saw him play an actual match.

Dan Mastous, my buddy from the U.S. who’s been to Cebu a few times, was at the Hall of Fame ceremony and he e-mailed me a detailed look at what happened. (All these photos were also taken by Dan.) Take note that apart from Sampras, three others were inducted, including Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Here’s Dan “reporting live from the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island…”