Tennis Parents Push It

He sits in a prison in Southwestern France, perhaps for up to eight years, having landed in that cell after a March trial in the town of Mont-de-Marsan determined he was guilty of drugging his children’s tennis opponents, having helped cause the death of one.

Yet, Christophe Fauviau is not just the latest tennis father gone bad but a frightening successor to the likes of Stefano Capriati, Jim Pierce, Marinko Lucic and Damir Dokic, someone who took it to the next level, managing to transform the ambition for his son and daughter into deadly action.

Fauviau had spiked opponents’ water bottles in tournaments across France from 2000 to 2003, using the anti-anxiety drug Temesta, which can cause drowsiness. His sentencing brought unwelcome international attention to French tennis and reopened wounds.

Those had not yet truly started to heal when reports surfaced this week in the French newspaper, L’Equipe, of an alleged altercation at a practice court at the French Open involving the father/coach of another French player, teenage qualifier Aravane Rezai.

Has what was once years ago considered largely an American problem taken on a French accent?

Not exactly. While Fauviau may be the poster child for the malaise, there are other nations represented along the edges of the picture.

Last summer, for example, the father of Russian teenager Evgenia Linetskaya was arrested on suspicion of battery after an alleged altercation during a tournament in Carlsbad. Though Linetskaya declined to pursue a legal case, the Women’s Tennis Assn. (WTA) banned her father for two years and handed down a lifetime suspension for her coach, Joe Giuliano.

Indeed, bad behavior among some parents is not new to the sport. Yet incidents continue to make a mark.

“Well, I think forever parents have occasionally strayed,” said Pam Shriver of ESPN, a tennis Hall of Famer and 1978 U.S. Open finalist. “But I do think the more headlines, the more attention a sport gets, coupled with money, can be a formula for disaster.

“Not all the time. There’s also a lot of parents that keep it in perspective.

“I started in ’78 and I can’t remember too many wacky parents. The ‘80s were the onset, but I don’t think they were invented in the ‘80s, I just think they’re more common now.

“Obviously, Jim Pierce set a pretty tough bar to pass.”

Shriver is referring to the father and coach of Mary Pierce. He was infamous for shouting at her opponents, was allegedly abusive to his daughter after losses and was ejected from the 1993 French Open for punching out a spectator. He was eventually banned for a time from WTA tour events. His behavior prompted the WTA to pass a rule -- once informally referred to as the “Jim Pierce Rule” -- banning such conduct.

This week’s incident involving Aravane Rezai occurred Monday during a morning training session on Court 8 and was apparently triggered by a misunderstanding over practice times between her and Russian teenage players Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Vesnina. Rezai’s father and coach, Arsalan, refused to comment on the matter to L’Equipe, according to a reporter from the newspaper.

There was no official complaint or report made to the WTA by the Rezais or by either Chakvetadze or Vesnina. But French Open officials are investigating, according to the tournament’s sports director Stephane Simian.

“We listened to both sides and we’re investigating right now,” he said on Wednesday. “So at this point, I can’t give you much more information. We’re still looking at it. Obviously, it’s word against word. There’s not a whole lot of evidence. It’s difficult to make a judgment. We’ll continue to investigate.”

Aravane Rezai, who defeated Ai Sugiyama, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the second round Wednesday, said she would “rather not discuss” the incident.

Later, Chakvetadze held no such reservations after her second-round loss to Na Li. She was animated and replaying the incident through gestures with two Russian reporters in a small interview room and went through the story again with The Times. She said that when the matter escalated, Arsalan Rezai got physical with Sergey Vesnina, the father of Elena.

“He hit him with his head to the nose,” Chakvetadze said, adding that that the elder Rezai inadvertently hit his daughter with a racket.

“He make a backswing to hit someone, like my dad, and he hit his daughter with a racket to the face,” she said. “ ... She started to cry and her mother, I think she thought somebody [one] of our dads hit her, and she started to scream.”

Chakvetadze said Rezai’s father left and returned with two policemen and accused the Russians of starting the incident. The L’Equipe story noted that side of the story, “Arsalan Rezai said he had been hit in the forehead with a racket and that his daughter had also been hit.”

“He’s crazy, actually,” Chakvetadze said, laughing. “...Yesterday, he said to Vesnina’s dad, ‘OK, peace.’ We have nothing [against] his daughter. She’s OK.”

Said the French Open’s Simian: “There was no report filed. We talked to all the parties involved, and decided there was no clear evidence what happened. It was one of those cases where obviously with the weather being cold and uncertain and some rain around, everyone is a bit more nervous.” A reporter suggested ... edgy?

“That’s the word,” he said.

In all fairness, edginess wasn’t confined to the female players and their supporters during what has been a chilly week at Roland Garros. The ill-willed, second-round match between Mario Ancic and Paul Capdeville -- won by Ancic -- ended with words and shoves exchanged.

Simian would not comment on why the No. 142-ranked Rezai had not received a main-draw wild card into the French Open, but L’Equipe wrote that it was because of her father’s temper. The family lives in Saint-Etienne, not far from Lyon, and her parents are Iranian. The 19-year-old, whose first name means purple flower, represented Iran last year in the Muslim Games.

“I want to show the other players, Muslim girls and women, what tennis is about and how you can help tennis in a Muslim [country] even in spite of the conditions,” she said.

Alain Deflassieux of L’Equipe said that Arsalan Rezai was inspired to get his children into tennis when he watched Yannick Noah win the French Open in 1983 and the famous embrace between Noah and his father on the court.

There is no denying the father has been the driving force behind his daughter’s career.

“Well, yes, it’s a good thing that he’s been a tough coach with me because without working you can’t get results,” she said. “That’s normal. It’s got to be tough. If it isn’t tough, you never make it.”

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At a glance

Wednesday at the French Open:

Top men’s seeded winners: No. 1 Roger Federer, No. 3 David Nalbandian, No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 10 Gaston Gaudio, No. 12 Mario Ancic, No. 13 Nicolas Kiefer.

* Men’s seeded loser: No. 26 Jose Acasuso.

* Top women’s seeded winners: No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 4 Maria Sharapova, No. 7 Patty Schnyder, No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 9 Francesca Schiavone, No. 11 Venus Williams, No. 14 Dinara Safina, No. 16 Nicole Vaidisova.

* Women’s seeded losers: No. 22 Ai Sugiyama, No. 25 Marion Bartoli, No. 27 Anna Chakvetadze, No. 29 Sofia Arvidsson.

TODAY’S FEATURED MATCHES

MEN

* Kevin Kim vs. Rafael Nadel (2), Spain.

* James Blake (8) vs. Nicolas Almagro, Spain.

WOMEN

* Conchita Martinez Granados, Spain vs. Kim Clijsters (2), Belgium.

* Justine Henin-Hardenne (5), Belgium vs. Anastasiya Yakimova, Belarus.