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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Jon Wertheim

Aired August 25, 2002 - 08:31   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The tennis world is preparing for the start of the U.S. Open. No strike there. Play under way tomorrow in White Plains, New York, when heavy hitters like Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and defending champ Lleyton Hewitt take to the court. And on the women's side, the big question is whether anyone can top the Williams sisters. With more, we're joined now by Jon Wertheim from "Sports Illustrated," and the author of the book, "Venus Envy." Thanks for being with us this morning.
JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Thanks, nice to be here.

COOPER: John, so, what is going on in tennis? It used to be that it was the men's game that everyone was sort of paying attention to. You don't really hear much about the men anymore; it's not really about the women.

WERTHEIM: Not only that, it's all about the Williams sisters, as you said. It is just going to be a colossal upset if someone other than Venus or Serena plays in the final, let alone wins this tournament.

COOPER: Is there anyone else on the women's side besides the Williams sisters, I mean, to be watching out for?

WERTHEIM: Well, you know, Martina Hingis is coming back from an injury, as is Lindsey Davenport, and Jennifer Capriati probably has the best bet of beating them. But really, the Williams sisters have been the story this year, and in the past two Grand Slams, they both played in the final. And it sort of seems, as they've hit their stride, as they've sort of ascended, the other players have almost taken a step back. So it's really the Williams/Williams show.

COOPER: Who do you think is going to win? Serena, I understand, has been having a knee problem.

WERTHEIM: Right. You know, Serena has beaten Venus three times this year, and has beaten her in the past two Grand Slam finals, but I think this is Venus' turn now. Venus has won three tournaments since Wimbledon, and you're right, Serena does have a knee injury, which is some, you know, a little bit of a cause for concern. I think, just on guts, I think Venus wins this time.

COOPER: In terms of the men's players, who are you looking at?

WERTHEIM: Well, the men sort of suffer the opposite fate, which is that any of 30 players could legitimately win this. I think you have to look at Lleyton Hewitt who won Wimbledon and is the defending champion at the U.S. Open, Marat Safin is a talented player. You never quite know what to expect, but he has the capability to win this, as he did in 2000. Andre Agassi, you can't count him out. But really it wouldn't surprise everyone if a guy you've never heard of, somebody ranked outside of top 20 came and won seven matches. That's just sort of the way men's tennis is these days.

COOPER: When do you think was the last time tennis was in this sort of lulled state, where so much focus was on the women and the men's field was so wide open?

WERTHEIM: Well, you know, I think a lot of it has to do with nationalities. The top four female seeds are American, and right now American men's tennis is going through a little bit of a rough patch. But if a guy like Andy Roddick, who certainly who is capable, or even a James Blake, who's been very good this summer, could step up and win, I think two weeks from now, we could be, you know, seeing a real uptick in men's tennis.

COOPER: There had been some reports a couple of weeks ago about I think it was -- was it Serena, who was talking about being an actress? Is there anything new on that?

WERTHEIM: Everybody wants to be -- nobody wants to be just a tennis player anymore. Yes, it was Serena that talked about that. And she's done a little acting in the past, but I wouldn't look for her anytime soon to get her SAG card.

COOPER: What's going on with Pete Sampras? I mean, he really seems off his game. I mean, he's had a couple of great matches, but overall, he seems very uncertain these days.

WERTHEIM: Right. That's a real question. We're talking about one of the -- if not the -- greatest player of all time. And he's really been in a tough spot lately, hasn't won a tournament since the 2000 Wimbledon, and has really been struggling this year. He comes in barely making the top 16 seeds. You know, is it age, is it lack of motivation, after winning the sort of career holy grail? Nobody really knows. And I think, you know, you really hope for this guy to do better, because it's not pleasant for anyone to see what he's going through this year.

COOPER: Has he spoken about it, I mean, publicly? Has he talked about -- I mean, there was talk about him changing his racket. You know, has he said what's going on in his head?

WERTHEIM: He's made a lot of changes this year, which is very uncharacteristic. He's also, people are quick to point out, he's gotten married, his wife is pregnant. Maybe that sort of dulls his motivation. No, I mean, this is somebody who doesn't suffer delusions of grandeur. He knows that this is disappointing. And I think all eyes are on him. I think he makes a good point, which is you get him on hard courts, which is he can play on this stuff, he's won this tournament in the past. Just string together a couple of good matches, and maybe we'll see a little bit of a comeback.

COOPER: All right, Jon Wertheim, we appreciate you coming in this morning. Thanks very much for your comments.

WERTHEIM: Thanks a lot.

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