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SPORTS WATCH: Tennis may get some love

Neil Best

June 20, 2008

The rest of North America's sports business and media writers beat me to this yesterday, so I will now summarize their findings on how Tiger Woods' absence will impact the PGA Tour:

Very, very negatively, but thanks for asking.

Hey, that's what you get when you put all your balls in one driving-range basket.

Here's one small example of the Tiger Effect:

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The final round of the 2006 U.S. Open, which did not feature Woods but did feature a memorable Phil Mickelson meltdown, attracted 4.7 percent of U.S. homes.

Last year's final round, with Woods in contention, earned a 6.4 rating.

This past Sunday's fourth round did a 7.5, nearly 60 percent better than in '06.

Now, though, golf and its fans will be reminded of what life was like pre-Tiger, such as this tidbit that will shock young sports enthusiasts:

Between the golf boom of the 1950s and '60s and the Tiger Era of the past decade, tennis was as big or bigger than golf among the two major "country club" sports.

Not anymore. Some revealing numbers:

In 1981, the John McEnroe-Bjorn Borg early-morning men's final at Wimbledon attracted 7.9 percent of all homes, a mind-boggling 33 percent of those with a TV in use. The final round of that year's U.S. Open golf tournament: 6.1.

In 2007, a classic final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal managed a rating of 2.7, slightly better than in most recent years but less than half the 6.4 for golf's showcase event.

But just in time for doctors to practice their slices on Tiger's ACL, tennis maybe, possibly, potentially, could make a modest peep, starting Monday with its most famous fortnight at Wimbledon.

That is because as golf has evolved into a one-man show, men's tennis' one-man show suddenly has a sidekick. Nadal's rise has made Federer far from a sure thing, and that is a good thing for tennis.

Of course it would help if one were American, a benefit the women's draw has in the form of the ever-complicated Williams sisters. But how much better can they do than their epic last July, in which Federer survived in five sets?

Now Nadal is coming off not only a wipeout of Federer in the French Open but a title at the Queen's Club. It was his first ATP championship on grass.

Patrick McEnroe, an ESPN analyst and U.S. Davis Cup captain, said Federer is more vulnerable than in recent memory.

"The reality is he's been the third-best player in the world this year ," McEnroe said. "I certainly think the gap has closed significantly."

McEnroe believes Andy Roddick has a realistic shot, but short of that, another Federer-Nadal finale is the best hope for buzz.

"We'd all obviously be happier if there were more Americans up there; we know that's part of the picture," McEnroe said. "But overall, it will help tennis, yes."