Games to Watch Are Off the Court

Nathalie Tauziat has climbed out of relative anonymity with a provocative book.

Jim Courier, who has been in semi-retirement, made it official last week and will be in the broadcast booth at Wimbledon.

And Martina Navratilova, who is planning on working her usual television gig at Wimbledon, is going back in time, returning to the tour with doubles partner Mariaan de Swardt of South Africa at Madrid; the French Open; Eastbourne, England; and Wimbledon.

What does it say when the most intriguing developments in the sport had nothing to do with the tour events in Berlin or Rome?

Sorry, Magnus.

For those who weren’t glued to the television over the weekend, that’s Magnus Norman, the new No 1. An Italian broadcaster asked Norman: “Who are you?”

Good question, that.

BOOK CLUB

Even avid followers of the game did a double take last week when the 1998 Wimbledon finalist, Tauziat, reached No. 3 in the world, a career high. At 32 years 7 months, she is the fourth-oldest player to be ranked No. 3.

Having lost early in Berlin, Tauziat is No. 6 this week and barely above .500 this year at 8-7.

Her ascent was not the only surprise. She caused a big stir in Europe, especially in her native France, with the release of her book: “Les Dessous du Tenis Femine (The Underside of Women’s Tennis).”

According to reports in French papers, Tauziat takes shots at Mary Pierce--”She is less and less French all the time”--and says she liked Navratilova better than Chris Evert because Evert knew how to influence on-court officials.

But her most publicized observations are about tournament organizers who have a commitment list of 20 of the most marketable players; she says those on the list are given bonuses ahead of others who might be ranked higher.

One local tournament director said that is hardly a secret, referring to the WTA’s gold and silver exempt lists, which are based on market conditions.

A Web site--Yahoo!--put another one of Tauziat’s contentions to the fans: “Nathalie Tauziat says of women’s tennis: ‘Aesthetics and charisma are winning out over sporting performance.’ Is she right?”

Nearly 4,000 fans responded, 67% answering yes.

JIM CLUB

Courier is joining that growing cadre of former tennis stars turned media celebrities. As a leading player--former No. 1 and four-time singles winner in Grand Slam tournaments--Courier was most often compared to Jimmy Connors.

Now, as a broadcaster, how about John McEnroe?

If Courier is as candid in his new job as he was as a player, there is a chance he can be as good as McEnroe in the booth.

He certainly has a handle on making headlines. There is no better example of that than the 1999 Australian Open, when Courier emerged as the leading anti-drug crusader during the Petr Korda controversy.

Courier was on the front page for several days, lashing out and hinting that there was use of EPO on the tour, then later said his remarks were “ill timed” and that he wasn’t accusing Europeans on the circuit of using banned substances.

CLAY QUEST

A sore left foot forced Lindsay Davenport of Laguna Beach to curtail her French Open preparation. She suffered bruising on the top of her foot in the semifinals of the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., and withdrew from two tournaments.

She will test herself on clay today at the Italian Open in Rome, followed by a tournament next week in Madrid.

“It actually took about three weeks before I was able to play without pain,” she said Monday. “That kind of detracted a little bit from my training.

“But the last two weeks, it’s felt a lot better. I’m playing my first tournament back this week in Rome. I’ll see how it feels after my match.”

Davenport talks about her struggles on clay. But she won in Madrid, on clay, in 1999, and has lost to the eventual champion at the French Open the last three years.

“Well, it would be quite an amazing feat if I was able to win the French Open, therefore winning all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold,” she said. “It’s definitely going to be my biggest challenge. It’s a surface that I haven’t spent much time on in my career--one that gives me a little problem with just the style of game I play.”

Last summer, Davenport played consecutive weeks in California--at Palo Alto, Carlsbad and Manhattan Beach--winning the first and reaching the semifinals in the others.

In 2000, she said, she plans to skip Manhattan Beach, play in Canada and take the week off before the U.S. Open. Defending champion Serena Williams and Martina Hingis are still expected to play at Manhattan Beach.