Bridging a Gap From Wimbledon to the War Zone

You can turn on a TV or pick up a newspaper this week and quite likely be exposed to one of two scenes:

One is a horror story of Kosovo’s war refugees, an ongoing drama as Serbian troops withdraw and their civilians flee while thousands of ethnic Albanians seek ways to return home.

The other, comparatively meaningless story unfolding is a tennis tournament, Wimbledon, a tradition since 1877.

One is a setting of destruction and homelessness, of haggard people in ragged clothing, traveling hundreds of miles on foot, without enough to eat.

The other is a lush, pristine landscape of white-costumed men and women on England’s green grass, surrounded by polite society, well fed on strawberries and cream.

Among the audience favorites at Wimbledon this week has been the American player Andre Agassi, who last won a men’s singles championship there in 1992. His triumph at the recent French Open has helped to revive Agassi’s popularity.

Forgotten by many is that his opponent in that ’92 Wimbledon final match was Goran Ivanisevic, a Croatian.

So many lives have changed since then in Ivanisevic’s war-torn corner of the world.

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“Dear Fellow Tennis Player,” begins a letter circulated recently to U.S. Tennis Assn. professionals by Stan Smith, who won Wimbledon 20 years before Agassi did.

“If you are bothered by the plight of the Kosovo refugees, now you can join the tennis community to help bring some relief to the suffering of these people.

“We are asking all tennis players to donate at least the value of one can of tennis balls to a relief agency helping the refugees.

“For two weeks, from the beginning of Wimbledon until the Fourth of July, you can inform your tennis friends about this campaign.

“In the spirit of Arthur Ashe, the great Wimbledon champion and life champion, we can all take a few steps on his path by contributing to this worthwhile cause.”

Smith, 53, a Pasadena native, won one of the most exciting Wimbledon finals ever. He defeated Ilie Nastase of Romania in a fifth set, 7-5.

With the help of Alan Boltin, a former Beverly Hills teaching pro, Smith is urging tennis professionals--from ones of international renown to those at small-town clubs--during Wimbledon’s fortnight to give needy individuals a hand.

“Just the value of one can of tennis balls . . . not much, but a lot if a lot of players participate,” Boltin says.

He and Smith are eager to recall life lessons they learned from Ashe, who before his death in 1993 constantly reminded peers to donate time and money to causes around the world.

Donation checks--hopefully some more than the $5 that a can of balls costs--can be made out to the International Rescue Committee and mailed to the IRC care of the Kosovo Refugee Tennis Fund, 122 E. 42nd St., 12th Floor, New York, NY 10168-1289.

“This entire campaign is being done in the spirit of Arthur Ashe,” says Boltin, who now heads a developmental research group based in New York and New Mexico. “What I admired most about Arthur was that he always did things beyond the game.”

Boltin took a step in this direction in 1985. He organized a “Friendship Exchange Tour,” taking a group of 30 U.S. amateurs to the former Soviet Union. They played a five-city tour of matches against the locals.

“At that time, the Soviet Union was thought of as the Evil Empire,” Boltin says. “I’ve always kept an eye on the unrest in the world, and on ways to relieve some of the stress.

“Kosovo brought back similar memories. What, 900,000 people, displaced instantaneously? It’s such a difficult time over there. I can imagine Arthur Ashe getting involved if he were still with us, just as Stan Smith is doing now.”

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In 1992, the year Ashe acknowledged that he had contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion, a young man from the former Yugoslavia reached the Wimbledon final.

No one from his homeland had ever done so well at Wimbledon before. A tall, left-handed player with a huge serve, Ivanisevic was only 20 at the time. But he established a record for the two-week tournament with 206 aces.

His championship match against Agassi was a thrilling one, the American prevailing 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Someone will win hundreds of thousands of dollars in Wimbledon prize money next week. But someone elsewhere could perhaps benefit more, from just a few bucks, the price of a can of balls.

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Mike Downey’s column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Write to him at Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. E-mail: mike.downey@latimes.com