THE YEAR THAT WAS — BEST OF VINTAGE 2008

BEST PLAYER (MEN) — Rafael Nadal, the 22-year-old Spaniard, dethroned Roger Federer, who had ranked No. 1 for four straight years and had hoped to equal or break Pete Sampras’s Open Era record of six straight years. Rafa, playing more aggressively than ever, routed the 27-year-old Swiss in the French Open final on clay, outlasted him in a spectacular, five-set Wimbledon final on grass, and outclassed Fernando Gonzalez to capture a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics on hard courts. Federer salvaged his season, however, by decisively beating rising stars Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to take his fifth straight U.S. Open title.

BEST PLAYER (WOMEN) — The flawed WTA rankings gave Jelena Jankovic the No. 1 ranking because, believe it or not, the results of her five worst tournaments were not counted. Serena Williams was the real No. 1, however, because she won the U.S. Open, gained the Wimbledon final, and won Miami (considered the fifth most important tournament), Charleston, and Bangalore. Serena was also a semifinalist at Stanford and a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, Beijing Olympics, Rome, and Berlin in 13 tournaments. That said! , it be hooves Serena to play 17 tournaments, and had she done so, she likely would have earned the No. 1 WTA ranking.

BEST MATCH — After four hours and 48 minutes of brilliant tennis that finished in the gloaming at 9:16 p.m., Rafael Nadal, an irresistible force of nature, dethroned Roger Federer, the champion for the previous five years, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 in an epic Wimbledon final. Federer staved off two championship points in the fourth set tiebreaker, but much like Bjorn Borg after losing the famous 18-16 tiebreaker to John McEnroe in another Wimbledon classic 28 years earlier, super-competitive Nadal eventually prevailed. Afterward, McEnroe, a respected TV analyst now, called the spellbinding duel “the greatest match I’ve ever seen.” Most veteran observers agreed. Federer graciously said, “Rafa’s a deserving champion. He just played fantastically.”

BEST (BRITISH) PAEAN TO A CLASSIC — “On Sunday 6 July 2008, we not only saw the greatest tennis match ever played, we were also given, cleanly, beautifully, the very essence of all that is best in sport and in a way I had never quite seen before and do not confidently expect ever to see again,” wrote James Lawson, sports columnist for The Independent (UK), on the epic Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final.

BEST (AMERICAN) PAEAN TO A CLASSIC — “I’m not a tennis fan, but even I sat riveted on Sunday watching the electric Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Not since Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant has there been such a compelling match-up between two greats in their sport, except for maybe Bird and Magic.” —Lang Whitaker, sportswriter for SI.com.

BEST TOUR DE FORCE — Maria Sharapova rampaged through a brutal draw at the Australian Open to capture her third Grand Slam title. The Russian power hitter took out former champion Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 6-3, No. 11 Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-0, No.1 Justine Henin 6-4, 6-0, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-1, and in the final, No. 3 Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3.

BEST HENIN CONFIDENTIAL — “Tennis is something that has been in my life since I was 5. Do we really decide what is good or not for us when we’re 5? I have no regrets, but it’s just that at age 26 now, I am entering into my adult life,” said Justine Henin, who shockingly retired in May at age 25 while ranked No. 1. “It’s like a new start for me with the luck to have already had a career at 26 when most people my age are still studying or just getting started to work. I feel like I’ve already had three lives.”

BEST FEDERER RECORD — Roger Federer is the only player in tennis history to win two Grand Slam events five years in a row: Wimbledon (2003-07) and U.S. Open (2004-08).

WORST RACIST RANT — “People are prejudiced in tennis. I don’t think Venus or Serena was ever accepted by tennis. They never will be. But if you get some little white no good trasher in America like Tracy Austin or Chris Evert who cannot hit the ball, they will claim this is great,” contended Richard Williams, who added, “The white man hated me all my life and I hate him,” in India’s Deccan Herald.

BEST REBUTTAL TO RACIST RANT — “I kind of feel sorry for him if he is that angry and bitter about tennis players and about white tennis players. When people lash out like that, they must be miserable people…. He has a history of saying things that are unacceptable. And I don’t really think many people in tennis listen to him anymore.” —Tennis legend Chris Evert, talking to ESPN.com about Richard Williams’ claim that his daughters were still not “accepted by tennis” and his reference to Evert and Tracy Austin as “little white no-good trashers.”

BEST VICTORY GESTURE — After she belted a crosscourt backhand winner against Jelena Jankovic on championship point of the U.S. Open final, Serena Williams threw her racket in the air and then hopped seven times in ecstasy. “I’m so excited I can’t even describe it. I feel so young and I feel so energized,” said Serena, who won her third U.S. Open title, nine years after her first one, and her ninth Grand Slam title, her first since January 2007.

BEST VENUS CONFIDENTIAL — In an interview on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” in May, Gumbel asked Venus Williams if she loves pro golfer and longtime boyfriend Hank Kuehne. Venus replied: “Why do you have to be asking that? I hate talking about my private life like this. I think he’s a great guy. I love him. Thanks, Bryant. That’s against every rule that Serena and I have made up.” When Gumbel asked, “Does he love you?” Venus replied, “He’d better.”

BEST PAEAN TO WIMBLEDON — “Everything about Wimbledon makes it special. It’s the grass, it's playing in white, it’s the Sunday off in the middle of the tournament, it’s the rain. Yes, [even] the rain is a great tradition at Wimbledon.” —French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, on the many charms of The Championships, in The Telegraph (UK).

BEST DOUBLES TEAM (WOMEN) — Veterans Cara Black and Liezel Huber dominated the Tour in doubles by winning 10 tournaments, including the U.S. Open and the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships, both without losing a set, and finished No. 1. Their 6,158 points more than doubled the 2,809 points of second-place team Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruana Pascual.

BEST DOUBLES TEAM (MEN) — The battle for No. 1 went down to the last match of year in the Tennis Masters Cup final. Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic clinched the Stanford ATP Doubles Race and the year-end No. 1 team ranking after defeating Americans Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6, 6-2 in Shanghai. The Canadian-Serbian duo snapped the Bryan brothers’ three-year hold on the top team honor after joining forces permanently as a pairing at the start of 2008.

BEST GIANTKILLERS — Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas and Peruvian Luis Horna became the first South American pair to capture a Grand Slam men’s doubles title in the Open Era when, playing together for the first time at a tour event, they won the French Open. After knocking out No. 1 seeded Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarters, the baseline bashers climaxed their incredible run by routing No. 2 seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-3 in the final.

BEST COURAGE — This award goes to Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjic, who broke his left hand in the Wimbledon doubles semis yet, paired with Daniel Nestor, he soldiered on to beat Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ulyett in the final.

BEST SERBIAN TENNIS MANIA — Because the mania in Serbia to produce young stars − like Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic − had gotten so out of control, its tennis federation hired a child psychologist to write a brochure with advice for parents.

BEST BRAINBUSTER — Who is the only player with a winning record against Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer? Answer: Wayne Ferriera.

WORST MENTAL GAME — “In the end, this is another reason to show to the people that this is a very mental game. Even though you are feeling great in certain moments and feeling a lot of confidence and motivation, everything can blow away in a second if you are mentally not ready and prepared for the challenge. Today, I had just a block, a mental block. I just couldn’t get through and get rid of it,” confided world No. 3 Novak Djokovic, on why he was upset by two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin, then 75th ranked, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 in the Wimbledon second round.

BEST “IN MEMORIAM” — Hamilton Jordan, best known as President Jimmy Carter’s chief of staff and the strategist that got him elected in 1976, died in May at age 63. Jordan was also a visionary and effective leader of both players and tournament directors who, feeling powerless, in 1988 left the ruling body called the Men’s International Professional Tennis Council. As executive director, Jordan helped establish the newly formed Association of Tennis Professionals, now the ATP Tour. “He built it out of almost nothing,” J. Wayne Richmond, a high ATP official then, told the Los Angeles Times. “We were at a point where the [four Grand] Slams could have crushed us, taken us over. He saved that.”

BEST RISING STAR — “We witnessed a star in the making. I haven’t seen anyone overpower a player like Nadal like that. I can’t remember a match played for three sets at that high calibre of tennis,” praised all-time great Roy Emerson, who returned to Australia to see Roger Federer surpass his 12 Grand Slam singles titles, but instead witnessed unheralded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rout Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semis. Despite mid-season knee surgery, Tsonga finished the season ranked a career-high No. 7.

BEST GAMBLING SIGNIFICA — On the Internet, tennis ranks No. 3 (behind only horse racing and soccer) in popularity as a betting sport in the world.

BEST DENUNCIATION OF PLAYER CHALLENGES — “Why, with a tool as powerful as Hawk-Eye, are we now saying to the players, in effect, “We know exactly where the ball landed, but unless you ask us the right way at the right time, we’re not going to tell you what we know?” —Greg Raven, a California teaching pro, rightly denouncing Player Challenges in a Racquet Sports Magazine column titled “What’s Fair is Fair.”

BEST TRIBUTE TO LOVE — “Happiness off the court translates to clear-mindedness,” said Mardy Fish, who was married in September. “We’ve done a lot of things to keep my mind off the tennis court. We did the seating chart for the wedding a couple days ago, something that I’m not used to doing. I might be watching Sports Center or ESPN or something like that, if she wasn’t around. So it’s much different and much calmer. We just enjoy each other’s company a ton, and she’s a huge help, as well.”

WORST LOVE TRIANGLE — “Greg Norman at one time was my best friend, and a year and a half ago I would have taken a bullet for this guy. I didn’t realize he was the one who was going to pull the trigger,” said Andy Mills, telling News Limited in Australia that Greg Norman, then engaged to Chris Evert, betrayed him and broke up his long marriage to Evert.

BEST FACT ABOUT GRASS — According to BBC television’s technological bank, a serve leaving Roger Federer’s racket at the same speed would now reach the returner 9 miles per hour slower after it had hit the modified grass − a type of Welsh rye grass called Aberelf − compared to the faster grass that was sown on the All England’s Club lawns six years ago.

BEST SERVING AND VOLLEYING LAMENT — All-time great Pete Sampras, rightly lamenting the near-extinction of exciting serving and volleying, said, “It’s a dying game. It’s gone, really. Nobody really wants to come in. Even Roger [Federer], who played serve-and-volley when he beat me at Wimbledon [2001, their only meeting on tour], stopped doing it. Everybody’s staying back, just hitting the crap out of the ball, not taking those risks. It’s not an easy thing − it takes years to really perfect. But I miss seeing it.”

BEST STRATEGY FOR NADAL — “Rafael needs to play like he is on grass all the time. He is young still. He has learned how to play on the grass, and make two finals. He will learn this on hard courts,” advised Toni Nadal, who has been working with Rafael, his nephew, for 18 years, before the U.S. Open where Rafa had never before advanced past the quarterfinals.

BEST READER — Nicole Vaidisova, a beautiful 19-year-old Czech, plummeted from No. 12 to No. 41, but 2008 was a very good year for her off-court education. A prolific reader, Vaidisova read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi.

WORST SEEDINGS — “I’m mystified every time Rafael Nadal shows up at the French Open, and they don’t seed him No. 1. He’s never lost there. He’s won four straight!,” said Mary Carillo, rightly lambasting the French Open for always seeding Rafael Nadal, the perennial champion, No. 2.

WORST RANKING SYSTEMS FLAWS — To the discredit of both the ATP and WTA Tours, their ranking systems still do not count all tournament results. Imagine throwing out the 20 worst results (viz., losses) that the Boston Celtics or any other professional sports team had, and you can quickly see how inaccurate and thus unfair the standings would be − and how quickly those sports leagues would lose their integrity and credibility. No wonder former world No. 1 Jim Courier, after Nadal won the French and Wimbledon titles, on “The Charlie Rose Show,” said: “Nadal is No. 1 now, no matter what the [ATP ranking] computer says.”

BEST ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY TOURNAMENT — Tennis Canada embarked on a three-year plan to reduce its environmental footprint and become carbon neutral by reducing significantly the greenhouse gas emissions and waste generated by the Rogers Cup. In addition to offering free public transit tickets to all spectators and providing a downtown shuttle service to an from Uniprex Stadium, Tennis Canada will offset some of the event’s greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing certified carbon credits from Planetair.

BEST TRIBUTE TO KANTARIAN — “Talk about taking it to another level − Arlen did all those things we always talked about,” said Patrick McEnroe, CBS and ESPN TV analyst and U.S. Davis Cup captain, about Arlen Kantarian, who resigned as CEO of Professional Tennis for the United States Tennis Association after running the U.S. Open since 2000, on ESPN.com. “Like, wouldn’t it be nice if fans could move down to the lower seats during late-night matches? Wouldn’t it be nice if fans could see scores and watch video highlights of other matches from their seats? When you see the top players in the world taking a twirl after matches, hitting balls into the stands, relaxed, Arlen made those things happen. He helped make it the norm that entertainment is part of being a professional player.”

BEST GRUNTING STATISTIC — During their rather loud Australian Open final, champion Maria Sharapova emitted 58 more grunts than runnerup Ana Ivanovic: 209 to 151.

BEST CHINESE TENNIS BOOM — “We are building so many courts it is impossible to count. Every block of flats being constructed has a swimming pool and tennis courts,” reported Hongbo Chen, a journalist, on the tennis boom in China that Jie Zheng’s Wimbledon success will undoubtedly accelerate, in The Guardian (UK). Today 8.12 million Chinese play tennis − more than double the number since the first Tennis Masters Cup was staged in Shanghai in 2004.

BEST (?) SIGN OF THE TIMES — Only eight women in the top 100 use one-handed backhands, and their average age is 25.6 years old. The highest ranking woman with a one-handed backhand is 29-year-old Amelie Mauresmo ranked No. 24.

BEST EUROPEAN DOMINATION — Eighteen of the top 20 players in the season-ending WTA rankings come from Europe. The only non-Europeans are Venus Williams, 28, and Serena Williams, 27. Similarly, 41 of the top 50 players in the season-ending ATP rankings are Europeans.

BEST YOUNG BLACK PROSPECTS — A new generation of highly talented black players, inspired by the stardom of Serena and Venus Williams and the success of James Blake, gives American tennis a newfound optimism. The best female prospects are 17-year-old Asia Muhammad, ranked No. 393 on the WTA Tour, 15-year-old Sloane Stephens, who with partner Robert Kendrick upset No. 1 mixed doubles seeds Daniel Nestor and Chia-Jung Chuang in the U.S. Open first round, and Sachia Vickery and Victoria Duval, both 13. The top boys are Jarmere Jenkins and Jadon Phillips, both 17, Evan King, 16, and Nathan Pasha, 15.

BEST HUMANITARIAN — “This is my first of many schools I plan to open up in Kenya. It is amazing how education has uplifted the lives of many people and has empowered them to determine their own future. It is the best achievement that I have done in my life.” —Serena Williams, on the second and final leg of an African charity mission after visiting South Africa, where she opened a new secondary school that she helped build and donated computers, in AFP.

BEST TENNIS POLITICIAN — In his six years as chairman and chief executive officer of the WTA Tour, Harvard-educated Larry Scott signed a six-year, $88 million agreement with the tour’s title sponsor, Sony Ericsson; revenue has more than doubled (from $21.4 million to $50 million); sponsorship money has burgeoned six-fold (from $5.4 million to $33.2 million); and total prize money has grown 35 percent since 2006 (from $63.6 million to $86 million in 2009). “We finally have a leader who is going out and fighting tooth and nail for us and has gotten us great deals and prize money, and blown up the tour,” praised Lindsay Davenport in Tennis magazine.

BEST U.S. OPEN FIRST — Kelly Bruno, who has a prosthetic leg, became the first amputee ball-person in U.S. Open history. “It’s definitely harder than I expected,” 24-year-old Bruno, a former track world record holder in her Paralympic category in the 200m and 800m events and now a world-class triathlete and Ironman competitor, told Fox Sports News. “What I enjoy the most is just being on the court with someone else who’s competitive. I can appreciate their drive and their athleticism. You almost feel like you’re a part of it. I love tennis. I love watch, and I play a bit. I love the stars.”

WORST MASOCHISM — During the Sony Ericsson Open, a frustrated Mikhail Youzhny repeatedly whacked himself in the head with his racket until blood trickled down his face. More than 1.5 million hits on You Tube witnessed the bizarre event.

BEST DOG LOVER — “If I loved a guy as much as I love my dog, the guy would be in serious trouble because I’m all over that dog, all of the time,” revealed Maria Sharapova about her great love for her Pomeranian pooch, Dolce, in The Times (UK).

BEST FILIAL LOVE — “She is the most important person in my life, and all that I have today I owe it to her. She has sacrificed so much for my sake, and I know that she is more tense than I am,” said Elena Dementieva, paying tribute to her mother, Vera, after beating fellow Russian and world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in a three-set final at Dubai Tennis Championships.

WORST NAVRATILOVA WRANGLE — According to a Nov. 23 story in The Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk), Martina Navratilova has dumped Toni Layton-Lambert, her lover of seven years out of the blue, and is embroiled in a multi-million dollar legal wrangle. A friend said: “Basically, she’s very lonely.” She ended her affair with Toni, who left her husband for the tennis legend, in a slanging match outside their home seven months ago. No one knew until now that the once devoted couple had split. A neighbour said: “It was pretty wild. Everyone living nearby could hear what was going on. They were both out in the street and Martina was yelling at the top of her voice and saying things like, ‘I want you out of my life’ and ‘I never want to see you again.’

WORST AGASSI-ROGERS DISPUTE — On Dec. 6, The Associate Press reported: “Just weeks after splitting from his client, Andre Agassi’s former agent and longtime friend has filed a lawsuit against the retired tennis star's wife, Steffi Graf. Sports agent Perry Rogers filed the lawsuit Friday in Clark County District Court. The suit claims Graf, also a former tennis star, owes $50,000 to Rogers and his Alliance Sports Management Company for services outlined in a 2002 agreement.”

BEST SPORTSMANSHIP — “One thing that has been much better in tennis the last few years has been the sportsmanship. A lot of players are very complimentary about each other – the embracing at the end of matches because a lot of the tennis has been so good – I think that’s something that tennis has got to be proud of over the last few years,” world No. 4 Andy Murray told The Scotsman.

BEST NON-FIST-PUMPER — When asked why she resists the trend to fist-pump after hitting great shots or winning big points, Venus Williams replied, “I expect to win the point. It’s not like if I win the point it’s something I wasn’t expecting.”

BEST PRAISE FOR FEDERER — “I could never understand how Federer manages to deal with the massive crowds that surround him. In Rome, it’s amazing how many people were trying to get his attention. But yet again, he’s such a classy person. I guarantee you that we will never see such an amazingly courteous player of such skill ever again on the tour.” —Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander, paying tribute to world No. 1 Roger Federer, on Eurosport.com.

BEST COACHING MOVE — Andy Roddick, who hasn’t won a major title since the 2003 U.S. Open and whose ranking dropped to No. 8, hired highly respected Larry Stefanki as coach. Stefanki previously coached John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Tim Henman and Fernando Gonzalez. Stefanki wants to improve Roddick’s break point conversion percentage (which was below 30 percent in 2008) and believes the 26-year-old American can win two more Grand Slam titles.

BEST TENNIS BOOKS — It was a very good year for tennis books. The best ones are: Tennis Confidential II: More of Today’s Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies (Potomac Books, Inc.); The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (New Chapter Press); The OPEN Book: Celebrating 40 Years of America’s Grand Slam (Triumph Books); A Champion’s Mind−Pete Sampras: Lessons from a Life in Tennis (Crown Publishers); On This Day in Tennis History (New Chapter Press).

BEST TV COMMENTATOR ATTITUDE — “The hardest part for me is that I only know how to speak honestly − of what is going on in the match,” former world No. 5 Jimmy Arias, a TV tennis analyst since 1994, told Naples News. “And so with some players that may make them unhappy with me. But that is the only way I know how to do it. I may not be making a lot of friends but what can I do?” Jimmy, you can keep doing it your way because your honesty and expertise are exactly what tennis fans want and need.

BEST VERY YOUNG PROSPECT — Michelle Larcher de Brito, a 15-year-old from Portugal who trains at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, scored big wins over No. 16 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 18 Flavia Pennetta, and No. 34 Gisela Dulko. But a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Serena Williams at Stanford was even more impressive. “If she plays the way she plays against me, she’ll be a great player,” said Serena, who trailed 6-4, 2-0 as the poised DeBrito belted forehand winners and effective body serves.

BEST JANKOVIC CONFIDENTIAL — “On the one hand, I am feisty and competitive every time I go on court. And on the other hand, I love to be outgoing, bubbly and have fun all the time. It’s like a battle really. It seems I am two different people rolled into one, and the two are fighting between themselves all the time,” confided world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, on the difficult struggle to balance the two personalities within her.

BEST QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY — “I want the number one ranking. More than anything else in the world, really…. I want success. I really want people to remember my name,” confided Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won her only Grand Slam singles title at the 2004 U.S. Open, in Tennis Week.

BEST EXCUSE — Twenty-one-year-old American Sam Querrey didn’t call his parents after his first-round win at the U.S. Open because he dropped his cell phone in the toilet.

BEST RECESSION QUESTION — “We have to be concerned. But sports tends to be recession-protected. There is always a lot of investment into sports.” —Larry Scott, CEO of the WTA Tour, on AIG, the worldwide insurer who sponsors the Stuttgart tennis tournament and whose independent American corporate arm was taken over by the government last month for $85 billion due to a massive cash-flow problem, in the Bangkok Post.

BEST NADAL FAN — “I told him, ‘I watch you all the time when you play tennis, and I love watching you play tennis.’ I told him good luck. He is probably the only person I wanted to meet,” revealed Michael Phelps, who won a record eight swimming gold medals at the Beijing Games, about meeting Rafael Nadal in the Olympic Village.

BEST “I JUST WANNA BE ME” PLEA — “Many times, I would say to my brother, ‘You have great things,’ and he’d say to me, ‘You have me as a brother, just enjoy tennis.’ I always wanted to be myself, and now finally the results are coming, and people can know me as Dinara Safina,” confided Dinara Safin, until recently overshadowed by her old brother and two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, in The New York Times.

BEST “DID SHE REALLY SAY THAT?” COMMENT — “Oh, my God, I would love to have kids. And I guess you should be married if you want to have kids, right?” concluded Serena Williams. As Gov. Sarah Palin would say, “You betcha.”

BEST REASON TO PLAY TENNIS — People who participate in tennis three hours per week at a moderately vigorous intensity cut in half their risk of death from any cause, according to the late Dr. Ralph Paffenbarger, who was an internationally recognized exercise authority and studied more than 10,000 people for 20 years.