August 29, 2005
The Tennis Tour According To Gimelstob
I think it's safe to say that Justin Gimelstob knew exactly what he was doing when he penned this blog entry for Sports Illustrated:
As dysfunctional as the men's tour is, the women's tour blows it away. For example, it's impossible for there to be enough practice courts for men and women to share without some kind of bickering. This is probably because of the fact that women have a bizarre refusal to practice with their fellow competitors. It's insane -- they literally would prefer to hit four on a court with their coach than two on a court with another player. They live in Bizarro World.
However, one of the benefits of having the women around is the ever-increasing desire for each and every young sassy player trying to outdo -- or in this case, under-dress -- the next.
It wasn't long before women's number one Lyndsey Davenport decided to fire back:
"I'm always curious what the fascination is about men having to judge women constantly. What they look like. What they wear. Who they hang out with. ... And men have this endless fascination with, and Justin especially, about just depicting and picking on everything about the body. And so his column was, I thought, a waste of time."
Final question to Davenport on this subject: "What about Justin's body?"
She replied: "Yeah, really. I asked him if he wanted me to get into that. He said no."
For more from Gimelstob, click here. And if his latest entry is any indication of what to expect next, it's pretty clear Gimelstob may have been chastened by the reaction to his initial foray into blogging.
UPDATE: It's important to remember that the folks who really get into trouble are the ones who have the nerve to tell the truth. Here's Selena Roberts:
[Maria] Sharapova and Serena Williams, in particular, are remarkably alike in their improbable journeys and oversized fame, in their fashion obsessions and intense playing styles, in their dramatics on court and revealing poses in magazines.
But is there room for two on Madison Avenue? To happy marketers, yes. To Serena? Maybe no.
Sharapova is the first player to come along in the Williams era to challenge Serena for celebrity supremacy. Certainly other Russian 'ovas have had sex appeal, but Sharapova is different from the other Annas. She wins matches, and does so with the kind of squealing ferocity that Serena once claimed as her original style.
Is Sharapova stealing Serena's look? If Serena is offended, good for tennis.
Gimelstob doesn't seem all that outrageous anymore, now does he?
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