THE LOW DOWN: Will "Road Map 2010" stop the WTA's bleeding? TENNIS mag's Martin is hoping so...

James Martin penned a searing essay for Tennis.com's ESPN blog on the "train wreck" that is the WTA Tour's US Open Series.

As it stands the top five point leading lady ballers are Dinara Safina, Aleksandra Wozniak, Marion Bartoli, Flavia Pennetta and Jelena Jankovic. These women are all deserving of their places in the Series' standings and whatever prize money they earn from playing, but these are clearly not the marquee names the USTA was hoping for with the exception of JJ and possibly Dinara.

According to Martin,

...the U.S. Open Series is quickly devolving into a bit of a joke, proof yet again that the WTA is powerless when it comes to delivering its talent for the summer hard-court season and the USTA's principle marketing vehicle leading into the U.S. Open.

Agreed. But will the WTA's new fangled "Road Map 2010" cure these ills? Let's take a look-see:

• 40% increase in prize money from $63.6 million in 2006 to $84.4 million
  
• 26 Tier I + II tourneys will be combined into 20 Premiere tourneys with a minimum baller commitment of 10 that they will play
  
• Four $4.5 million tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing will be mandatory for all players who qualify
• Five $2 million stops in Canada, Dubai, Rome, Cincinnati and Tokyo of which the top-ranked players must play at least four. The WTA must have at least seven of the world's top 10 ballers at each of these events.
• Ballers will complete their schedules by playing in at least one or two $700,000 events
• Zero tolerance for withdrawals from tournaments ballers have committed to playing. If a baller does pull out, even because of injury, she will forfeit bonus money ($5 million available to the top 10 ranked players) and receive zero ranking points for that event

WTA president Stacey Allaster stated that the Tour balanced the ballers' requests with the needs of the Tour itself and the tourneys:

They asked to put the best events in the right dates and we've done all of that. We've given them breaks. Now we're saying, there's going to be a little less flexibility on where you play and if you don't play, then there's going to be really significant ramifications.

Ouch - the zero tolerance policy is pretty tough. But I do agree wholeheartedly that the WTA needed to figure out a way to stop the bleeding and get these top lady ballers to play the premiere tournaments or at least get them to show up and try.

Why do some of the men, like Andy Roddick in Cincinnati, attempt to play with an injury even if he ends up pulling out during the warm-up? The same goes for Andy Murray who dealt with a knee injury in Toronto but is still competing in Cincinnati. Of course injuries are part of any sport, some more serious than others, but it's the effort the fans what to see.

So they get some extra cash in their pockets - but will it get the ladies to show up?

(image via Getty)

"Dirtballer" a dirty word in tennis says James Martin

TENNIS mag's head honcho James Martin thinks the term "clay-court specialist" has become an insult more than a compliment for a baller, and they deserve more respect in the sport.

Martin argues in his "Viewpoint" column that Rafael Nadal is a dirtballer's baller, irregardless of his record on other surfaces, because the Spaniard's

"a tenacious baseline warrior who grinds out his victories on the most physically grueling surface in tennis. But therein lies the rub. Although Nadal has a strong record on hard and grass courts, he is a clay-court specialist. The stats prove it. No other player comes close to equaling his record on the dirt. And as hard as he tries to do well on other surfaces, Rafa is the quintessential dirtballer."

Not that there's anything wrong with that according to Martin:

"It’s no knock on his accomplishments. Yet, you can’t help but think how the term “clay-court specialist” has become a sort of backhanded compliment in the sport."

But if Rafa never adds to his three French Opens, Martin believes his legacy won't be as impressive:

"Do people look at Gustavo Kuerten, who’s retiring after this year’s Roland Garros, as anything but a clay-court specialist?

Unfortunately, history doesn’t always look kindly on players of his ilk (Bruguera, for one, got snubbed by the Hall of Fame this year) and are rarely considered among the pantheon of all-timers."

So if clay-court prominence and success holds less weight than success on other surfaces, why is Pete Sampras' legacy or Roger Federer's career thus far negatively impacted by the fact that neither great owns a French Open crown?

Seems like hypocrisy to me.

(image via tennis.com)

War of Words: TENNIS mag's James Martin attacks Marat Safin, "You're a mess, man," says Martin

It seems the normally innocuous TENNIS magazine is finally ruffling some feathers. Editor-in-chief James Martin recently wrote a scathing open letter on the mag's website to 2-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin in his "Viewpoint" column. In the piece, Martin lays into the Russian saying, "You’re a mess, man. You haven’t won more than two matches in a row since mid-July, and your best result this season was in February when you reached the semifinals of Las Vegas. Fitting, since you’ve been coming up craps ever since." He goes on to question his commitment to the sport comparing Marat to a certain playboy ("Lately, you’ve been as committed to tennis as Hugh Hefner is to monogamy."), his lackluster attitude ("You’re like a teenager who’s way too self-absorbed for his own good.") and even makes mention of Marat's recent failed attempt to climb Nepal's Cho Oyo ("I can only imagine how miserable you were, and how miserable you made your fellow hikers on that journey, when you discovered that climbing a mountain is, like, real work.")

The brutal letter did not go unnoticed by Marat's camp, however. A response to the "insulting article" appeared on his website attacking James Martin and accusing the editor of "trying to put a smear on Marat's situation." The post goes on to question the integrity of TENNIS magazine and the site saying the article was "written on a 'respected' website and this article was full of hate - really patronizing and vicious in its comments and aimed at hurting Marat, his reputation, his past contribution and achievements in the field of tennis."

We wholeheartedly agree Marat Safin, with his immense talent, is an ultimate underachiever and we're all for "tough love". So let's not stop with him. Let's add in Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Andy Roddick, and David Nalbandian. And these are just the more recent underachievers. Where are their scathing open letters James Martin?

+ Netcords

- The seeding for Wimbledon has been set. Keep an ay-yay-yay out for my DOWN THE LINE seed report later in the week...

- Tennis Week reports that The "Sisters Sledge" Venus & Serena Williams will be cracking forehands (hopefully between the lines this time) with special-edition Wilson racquets made with serious bling. Serena will play with a pure black frame and Venus with a pure white version, both featuring real 22 CARAT GOLD leaf laid into the frame.

- Tennis.com's James Martin posted his "What to Watch at Wimbledon" report - I have my sights set on #1, #5 and #7

- Powerhouse Justin Henin has given up her fave late-night snack - Belgian chocolates - for the good of her game, reports The Independent.