Since Wimbledon has finished, the tennis tours take a small hiatus, at least in stature. While Ivan Lendl was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this past weekend, no star of any name played in the Hall of Fame Classic, the only grass court professional tournament played on U.S. soil. While not all of the biggest have played in it, the Classic, for many years, featured top ten players. Sandy Mayer, Vitas Gerulitas, Gene Mayor, David Wheaton, and the like have all graced the lawns of the Newport Casino in the past.

This year, I didn't even recognize any of the names. It's a shame, as it is held in conjunction with the induction ceremonies so as to honor the inductees. It appears that history is not that important to the new generation of players.

The other tennis around belongs to the European clay courts. The clay court season resumes with tourneys across Europe. While not major tournaments, at least one big upset has already occurred with number one seed Sebastian Grosjean being eliminated in the first round of one of this weeks events. Guga Kuerten and Alex Corretja also return to the tour, having recovered from their pre-Wimbledon "injuries" in time to play in these insignificant dirt ball tourneys.

That's all I am going to say about that, as I am still steamed at the two for skipping Wimbledon over the seeding argument. You would figure guys making millions would not worry about things so insignificant, but they do. So instead of ranting and raving about this, I would like to shift our attention to American tennis.

This week begins the summer 2001 run of World Team Tennis. The WTT was formed in 1973, the brainchild of a Pittsburgh millionaire merged with the talents of a true American star. Billie Jean King, at that time the best women's player in the world, headlined the initial league and was one of its founders.

The concept was intended to make the then burgeoning sport more American fan friendly, and to capitalize on the pro team sports boom. Structured like all sports leagues, players were paid salaries and competed for the team in matches with a season ending playoff and championship. The largest names of the day were initially players, including King, Rosewall, Connors, Evert, Goolagong, Hewitt, McMillan, and the like. The league lasted from 1974-1978.

Of note, is the fact that Pittsburgh became the first city in history to win four professional championships, capturing the WTT Bancroft trophy in 1975. The WTT concept did not last, as public interest was not there. The WTT also be! came an issue with the ITF, and there were some discussions on banning players of the WTT from playing in some European tournaments.

Billie Jean King resurrected the concept and league after a three year hiatus and in 1981 a four team league re-emerged in California. The league expanded over the next few years and became nation-wide in 1983, and in 1984 Billie Jean became the first ever woman commissioner of a pro sports league. Billie Jean serves in that position today.

Over the last two decades, numerous teams and players have competed, using the WTT as a way to hone their games for the fall hardcourt season and the U.S. Open. Players from Pete Sampras to Lindsay Davenport to Andy Roddick have all played. This year continues the tradition.

WTT begins this year with eight teams. Each team consists of five players and may have additional "marquee" players on the roster who may play in all or just a few of the team matches. This year's teams are sparsely populated with marquees, but the marquees are great ones.

The pre-season favorite is the Delaware Smash. The Smash are previous WTT champs and return Jelena Dokic and Mariaan de Swardt from last year's team. The lineup includes Serena Williams as the marquee player. Jelena is scheduled to play in all of the team matches.

Patrick McEnroe is the owner/coach/player for the New York Hamptons. The younger McEnroe brother is joined by brother John and includes model/stud/player Jan-Michael Gambill. Look for lots of excitement on the court, especially when the McEnroes team in doubles.

Monica Seles comes to the Hartford Foxforce this year. Monica has played for other teams previously and will be teamed with the always dangerous Mirijana Lucic and Luke and Murphy Jensen. The Jensens alone will be worth the price of admission. The question is, will either have a midseason walkabout like one brother did at Wimbledon a few years ago?

The Philadelphia Freedoms make their return to the league this year. The Freedoms were the original WTT team, and return to the "City of Brotherly Love" after a twenty-year vacation. Jimmy Connors will be the marquee player, and is scheduled to play in several of the matches. Look for Connors vs. Roddick in an upcoming WTT match.

The Kansas City Explorers, Sacramento Capitols, Springfield Lasers, and New York Buzz continue play in this year's league, but at this time do not feature any marquee players. Each team is solid, with Elena Likhovtseva, Jill Craybas, Mahesh Bhupathi, David Wheaton, and Jessica Steck competing on the teams.

The St. Louis Aces round out the league, and have a clear shot at the title. Not only does Lindsay Davenport return at the marquee position, but doubles partners Rick Leach and Jared Palmer, along with Manon Bollegraf join teen and Wimbledon sensation Andy "A-Rod" Roddick on what will certainly be a team that will be in the finals. Look for A-Rod to play in all the St. Louis matches. I can't wait to see Connors/A-Rod. Look in your local listings for match times and channels.

Before I go, I want to extend my well wishes and congratulations to Andre and Steffi. They announced that they are expecting a child in December. I am sure that all of you join me in wishing them the best and look forward to seeing the baby on the court in the future.

Well, that's all she wrote for this week. The year-round, hard-working Sports Central team will be taking a well-deserved vacation over the next two weeks, so there won't be any new material here until we return. Look for me on the SC message boards during that time for new and breaking tennis stories and discussion.

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