Mark Lyons
By Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net
EDITOR'S NOTE: TennisReporters.net debuts
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the game's leading personalities.
I don't believe that Anna Kournikova is seriously
injured anymore and it's clear by the number of exhibitions she has
played over the past two years that she could at least mount a comeback
in doubles. But she's not yet interested in testing herself against
the elite anymore, which is why she bailed out of a singles match
against Steffi Graf in World TeamTennis last summer.
If
she were to put back on 10 pounds of muscle and rededicated herself,
she could make a drive at the top-20. She
was that good. I also believe that had she beaten Anna Smashnova
in the final of Polo Open back in September 2002 that she would have
never retired.
Getting
the "no title" monkey off her
back would have been huge to Anna, even though she consistently said
that it wasn't that big of a deal. For someone who had as many top-10
wins as she did, it became a very big deal that she couldn't string
four wins in a row together at Tier II events.
The word has it that she did marry singer Enrique
Iglesias and still earns close to $10 million a year in endorsements
and appearances, thanks to her brilliant agent, Octagon's Phil de
Picciotto ... and her looks.
Financially, Anna has no reason to
return to the tour, but the feeling here is that she will during the
next year – in doubles, and very likely partner with Martina Hingis.
© TennisReporters.net 2006
