TENNIS / THOMAS BONK : Once Again, Men’s Field Is Wide Open

If it’s hot, humid, noisy, chaotic and totally unpredictable, then it’s got to be the U.S. Open, a two-week walk on the wild side where anything can happen (i.e. Jimmy Connors in 1991, Pete Sampras in 1990), and played out in a wacky venue now so quiet that even Andre Agassi could probably hear himself think.

Yes, the airplanes are gone and so is Monica Seles’ grunt as the fourth and last of tennis’ Grand Slam events begins its annual journey through the smoke from the concession stands Monday at Flushing Meadow. Right now, the only certainty is that both defending champions--Stefan Edberg and Seles--will show. Other than that, choosing such things as tournament favorites is definitely a risky business.

Actually, picking the players likely to succeed isn’t all that hard, although tabbing the winners certainly rates high in degree of difficulty.

As usual, handicapping the women’s field is a lot easier than the men’s.

Steffi Graf--The Wimbledon champion and French Open runner-up probably would be a shoo-in for the title, except she isn’t healthy. Graf has a sore shoulder and is recovering from a virus. But because nobody else has distinguished herself recently, Graf seems to be the player to beat.

Jennifer Capriati--If Graf isn’t the one to beat, then chances are it will be Capriati. At 16, she could break Tracy Austin’s record as the youngest U.S. Open champion, but Capriati might already have done it last year if she had simply played a few points better in her 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) semifinal loss to eventual champion Seles.

Seles--The No. 1-ranked player in the world has finished No. 2 in her last three tournaments, by losing three consecutive finals, going quietly each time in the wake of the Wimbledon grunting controversy. Seles’ problems have centered around two areas: hitting the ball and returning the ball. She hopes she can pull herself together.

Martina Navratilova, Gabriela Sabatini, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario--This is the next tier of contenders, each capable of winning, although it would be an upset if one of them did. Navratilova is buoyed by her straight-set thrashing of Seles in the final of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, in the other locker room, the favorites in the men’s field looks like the boarding lounge at nearby LaGuardia Airport.

Where to begin?

Sampras--The champion of two years ago might be the hottest player in the men’s game as the world’s premier hard court event begins. And as hot as Sampras was two years ago when he blitzed Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Agassi in succession, he is a much better player now, with a surprisingly consistent backcourt game to match his hard, flat serve and unerring volley.

Edberg--The defending champion has so far held off Sampras’ charge to take the No. 2 ranking from him (despite a loss to Sampras in the semifinals at Cincinnati) and won two weeks ago in New Haven, Conn. Edberg’s serves might not be as good, his volleys as well-placed and his groundstrokes as long as they were when he beat Jim Courier in last year’s final, but it’s probably premature to write off Edberg.

Courier-- Not winning a tournament in a couple of months, plus playing poorly and losing in Barcelona, isn’t the best way to prepare for the U.S. Open, but that’s what Courier has done. Nevertheless, he remains a powerful figure on hard courts and a candidate to win his third Grand Slam event of the year if he can regain his touch.

Agassi--After winning Wimbledon, anything is possible.

Boris Becker--The 1989 U.S. Open champion had not played well all year until he pulled himself together at Indianapolis before falling to Sampras in a three-set final. Until that time, Becker had been to one other semifinal--Hamburg, Germany, in May--since he lost to Courier in the final in Brussels on carpet in mid-February.

Goran Ivanisevic--Nobody serves it better than the 6-foot-4 Ivanisevic, who leads the universe in aces. If he can get hot and serve a couple of hundred in the next couple of weeks, he has a shot.

Ivan Lendl, Michael Stich, Richard Krajicek--The second wave includes a banger (Lendl) and two big bombers (Stich and Krajicek). Underdogs all, it would be a huge upset for any of the three to win. But stranger things have happened.

Streaks: If you’re keeping score, Sampras has won three consecutive tournaments--on clay in Kitzbuhel, Austria, and hard-court events in Cincinnati and Indianapolis--and is now 5-1 against Courier.

Courier hasn’t won a tournament since the French Open in May.

Seniors: As he promised, Jimmy Connors has launched a new senior tennis tour for players 35 and older. The Champions Tour is scheduled to begin in mid-1993 with as many as seven tournaments.

Connors, who will turn 40 at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, is president of Net Assets Inc., the company that owns and manages the tour. Connors’ partner in the venture is Ray Benton, former president of ProServ, Inc.

Jimmy vs. Martina: Graf isn’t exactly lying awake at night thinking about the Sept. 25 match between Connors and Navratilova in Las Vegas. “I’m not really taking it that seriously,” she said.

But does Navratilova have a chance? Said Graf: “No, I don’t think so.”

Money news: Prizes are increasing in women’s tennis. Tour sponsor Kraft will increase prize money in 1993 to $33 million, a 25% increase. In addition, the women’s pro council is reshaping the schedule to designate seven so-called “Blockbuster” tournaments that will offer $750,000 in prize money.

At least five top-10 players will be designated to play in each $750,000, or new Tier I event--the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Family Circle Magazine Cup in Hilton Head, Italian Open in Rome, Lufthansa Cup in Berlin, Matinee LTD Canadian Open in Toronto, BMW European Indoors in Zurich and the Virginia Slims of Philadelphia.

In 1989, total Kraft tour prize money was $17.9 million.

Tennis Notes

Arthur Ashe has rejoined the board of trustees of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. He was a member from 1976-1984. Ashe announced in April that he had contracted AIDS through prior blood transfusions. . . . Thirteen teams have advanced from sectional play and will play in the USTA Adult League national championships, led by Open teams featuring such players as Pat Crow of Malibu, Craig Johnson of Venice, Rod Gabuya of Redondo Beach and Nels Van Patten of Sherman Oaks. The women’s Open team includes Lea Antonopolis of Brentwood, Anna Maria Fernandez of Redondo Beach, Heliana Steden of Los Angeles, Lynn Lewis of La Costa, Christina Townsend of Irvine and Barbara Gerken of West Los Angeles. . . . After 17 years, the Virginia Slims of California is no longer--Bank of the West is the new tournament sponsor. . . . For what it’s worth, boarding students at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy pay $19,400 per academic year, according to Bob Larsen’s Tennis Business. In 1956, Bollettieri was giving private lessons for $1.50 per hour.