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CNN Live Today

Interview With Peter Bodo

Aired June 02, 2003 - 11:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the world of sports, men's singles dominate today's play at the French Open in Paris, but as usual, the women are the ones getting the headlines. There won't be any repeat of the finals between the Williams sisters this time around, Venus and Serena. Venus was beaten yesterday by 18-year-old Russian newcomer Vera Zvonareva. Now, Serena Williams remains one of only two American women who are in the quarterfinals. The Americans not doing all that good on clay, with the exception of Andre Agassi.
Peter Bodo is senior editor at "Tennis" magazine. He joins us now from New York to talk about all of this. Good to see you, Peter, how are you?

PETER BODO, SENIOR EDITOR, "TENNIS": Good. How are you, Leon?

HARRIS: I am a bit surprised. I watched some of that match yesterday between Zvonareva and Venus Williams, and Venus didn't really look like she had it going on at all.

BODO: I don't think Venus did. I think one of the problems, really, it is more -- not even about her game as much as it is about her curious (ph) situation with Serena. We have a story coming out in July about the Venus trap, as it were.

But you will really look at Venus' dilemma, because she has been a nurturing big sister all her life, and Serena seems to be handling the challenge of competition head to head with her sister a lot better than Venus is.

HARRIS: Well, her father had called that one a long time ago, and I remember the first few articles I read about this family, and Richard Williams was saying then that Serena was the one with the killer instinct. It appears that that may actually be true here.

BODO: You know, you couldn't hit it more on the head, because she is loving life as a No. 1. She just can't get enough of winning. She has no apologies for what she's doing. Venus is a little more introspective, and the other thing is Venus has got other things going on that she really seems to be really interested in. Unfortunately, she hasn't really worked very much on her game, it seems.

HARRIS: Yes. Some are saying she may be in denial.

Let's talk a little bit about some of the other names that are there as well. Jennifer Capriati, she got bounced, and by a Russian, as did Venus Williams as well. This Nadia Petrova, what do you know about her? BODO: Well, she is a very interesting girl. Her parents were both great athletes. Her father was an Olympic hammer thrower. Her mother was actually a bronze medalist, I believe, in Olympic Games, in 400 meters, perhaps in a relay. And she grew up in Egypt. She has got this great tennis itinerant background, so much the sort of order of the day in international tennis.

She has actually developed her game in Egypt, and then she was taken under the wing of a Polish entrepreneur who financed her development. She is the real thing. She's a wonderful player. She is a tall, rangy, powerful girl. I really like her for the future.

HARRIS: All right. Can the real thing beat Serena Williams?

BODO: Oh yes, absolutely. I think Serena Williams is a great, great player, she is on the top of her game, but all it takes is a little bit of a change in confidence, a little bit of a new look or a little bit of a different person, you never know.

HARRIS: You never know. Well, we also -- we won't know now about Lindsay Davenport. She pulled out yesterday. I saw her trying to make an effort there, but I guess she's thinking about down the road. If she stays in there and hurts that toe even more, she can't play any this year, and that's a lot of money.

BODO: Yes, of course, and also her chances, really, if you are looking at this window, French Open, Wimbledon being so close, you have got to figure if she is looking at saying, you know, I've got to heal this toe, and there is no point in me getting to the semis and getting crushed here when clay is not my favorite surface, whereas at Wimbledon, I've got a better chance of doing it all.

So -- I think she probably would have continued if she could. The pain probably was really severe, but it really isn't her best tournament. Nobody would tout her to win here.

HARRIS: All right. On the way out now, let's talk about the men. We will give them some play at least this morning. Andre Agassi, what in the -- is there anything to beat this guy? This man is the terminator.

BODO: He really is. And the irony is all that Andre has been through in his career, all the talk about image is everything, and dating Brooke Shields...

HARRIS: I remember those ads.

(CROSSTALK)

BODO: Exactly. The fact is he is such a seasoned, crafty, patient, bright, pick my spots kind of veteran. It's marvelous to see somebody at the absolute peak of their craft playing with this (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HARRIS: I don't see anybody -- anybody out there who can spot a guy, a 19-year-old, two sets, then come back and beat him in five. That man deserves all of our respect. Peter Bodo, appreciate your time today. Hope to talk with you later on about all of that.

BODO: Nice to be here. We'll see you later.

HARRIS: Have fun watching the French Open.

BODO: OK. Will do.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 2, 2003 - 11:47   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the world of sports, men's singles dominate today's play at the French Open in Paris, but as usual, the women are the ones getting the headlines. There won't be any repeat of the finals between the Williams sisters this time around, Venus and Serena. Venus was beaten yesterday by 18-year-old Russian newcomer Vera Zvonareva. Now, Serena Williams remains one of only two American women who are in the quarterfinals. The Americans not doing all that good on clay, with the exception of Andre Agassi.
Peter Bodo is senior editor at "Tennis" magazine. He joins us now from New York to talk about all of this. Good to see you, Peter, how are you?

PETER BODO, SENIOR EDITOR, "TENNIS": Good. How are you, Leon?

HARRIS: I am a bit surprised. I watched some of that match yesterday between Zvonareva and Venus Williams, and Venus didn't really look like she had it going on at all.

BODO: I don't think Venus did. I think one of the problems, really, it is more -- not even about her game as much as it is about her curious (ph) situation with Serena. We have a story coming out in July about the Venus trap, as it were.

But you will really look at Venus' dilemma, because she has been a nurturing big sister all her life, and Serena seems to be handling the challenge of competition head to head with her sister a lot better than Venus is.

HARRIS: Well, her father had called that one a long time ago, and I remember the first few articles I read about this family, and Richard Williams was saying then that Serena was the one with the killer instinct. It appears that that may actually be true here.

BODO: You know, you couldn't hit it more on the head, because she is loving life as a No. 1. She just can't get enough of winning. She has no apologies for what she's doing. Venus is a little more introspective, and the other thing is Venus has got other things going on that she really seems to be really interested in. Unfortunately, she hasn't really worked very much on her game, it seems.

HARRIS: Yes. Some are saying she may be in denial.

Let's talk a little bit about some of the other names that are there as well. Jennifer Capriati, she got bounced, and by a Russian, as did Venus Williams as well. This Nadia Petrova, what do you know about her? BODO: Well, she is a very interesting girl. Her parents were both great athletes. Her father was an Olympic hammer thrower. Her mother was actually a bronze medalist, I believe, in Olympic Games, in 400 meters, perhaps in a relay. And she grew up in Egypt. She has got this great tennis itinerant background, so much the sort of order of the day in international tennis.

She has actually developed her game in Egypt, and then she was taken under the wing of a Polish entrepreneur who financed her development. She is the real thing. She's a wonderful player. She is a tall, rangy, powerful girl. I really like her for the future.

HARRIS: All right. Can the real thing beat Serena Williams?

BODO: Oh yes, absolutely. I think Serena Williams is a great, great player, she is on the top of her game, but all it takes is a little bit of a change in confidence, a little bit of a new look or a little bit of a different person, you never know.

HARRIS: You never know. Well, we also -- we won't know now about Lindsay Davenport. She pulled out yesterday. I saw her trying to make an effort there, but I guess she's thinking about down the road. If she stays in there and hurts that toe even more, she can't play any this year, and that's a lot of money.

BODO: Yes, of course, and also her chances, really, if you are looking at this window, French Open, Wimbledon being so close, you have got to figure if she is looking at saying, you know, I've got to heal this toe, and there is no point in me getting to the semis and getting crushed here when clay is not my favorite surface, whereas at Wimbledon, I've got a better chance of doing it all.

So -- I think she probably would have continued if she could. The pain probably was really severe, but it really isn't her best tournament. Nobody would tout her to win here.

HARRIS: All right. On the way out now, let's talk about the men. We will give them some play at least this morning. Andre Agassi, what in the -- is there anything to beat this guy? This man is the terminator.

BODO: He really is. And the irony is all that Andre has been through in his career, all the talk about image is everything, and dating Brooke Shields...

HARRIS: I remember those ads.

(CROSSTALK)

BODO: Exactly. The fact is he is such a seasoned, crafty, patient, bright, pick my spots kind of veteran. It's marvelous to see somebody at the absolute peak of their craft playing with this (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HARRIS: I don't see anybody -- anybody out there who can spot a guy, a 19-year-old, two sets, then come back and beat him in five. That man deserves all of our respect. Peter Bodo, appreciate your time today. Hope to talk with you later on about all of that.

BODO: Nice to be here. We'll see you later.

HARRIS: Have fun watching the French Open.

BODO: OK. Will do.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com